With legal assistance after a car accident being critical to the successful outcome of most Insurance Corporation of B.C. claims the lawyers at Holness Law Group report automobile crashes to ICBC. As a lawyer in Vancouver I often help by first reporting a car accident to ICBC even if a client has already called dial-a-claim.…
Personal injury lawyers in BC will want to take note that the Court of Appeal has reversed an award of trial costs as the judge was clearly wrong in finding that the defendants were successful. (Loft v. Nat,2014 BCCA 108). The Court of Appeal makes it clear that obtaining less money than what was requested…
Personal injury lawyers are often faced with advising clients about offers of settlement. This, claimant gets awarded less than settlement offer case(Brewster v. Li,2014 BCSC 463) illustrates the modern approach BC Courts are taking to pre-trial offers of settlement. If you don’t accept a reasonable offer, expect to lose your costs and disbursements for trial,…
In personal injury cases, including slip and fall injuries, claimants are expected to move the litigation along and to name all of the right people and companies in the lawsuit. This dismissal of slip and fall case for want of prosecution (Morice v. Toronto-Dominion Bank,2014 BCSC 380) shows that when delay causes prejudice which goes directly and profoundly to…
A $222,000 offer to settle a car accident injury claim was rejected and after a ten day trial a jury awarded $53,000. In light of the juries award the claimant was denied the costs of preparation and attendance at trial (Wafler v. Trinh,2014 BCCA 95). The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia had made three offers to settle…
In this medical malpractice case (Chen v. Ross,2014 BCSC 374) the claimant underwent a Membrane Surgery to remove clouding and to peel scar tissue off the lining of the eye. After the surgery the claimant experienced dramatic loss of vision in the left eye, and was eventually assessed as legally blind in that eye. The loss…
The 3 year old claimant’s father was killed in a motor vehicle accident resulting in this Wrongful death award to daughter (Duncan v. Brown,2014 BCSC 153). Changes to the law now prevent ICBC and other insurance companies from avoiding a child’s claim for loss of dependency due to the existence of a step parent. The car…
As a personal injury lawyer in Vancouver since 1995 the top questions I still get asked before getting hired are about legal experience and fees. In today’s article I want to address the credentials to look for when hiring a personal injury lawyer in British Columbia. Claimants looking for the “best personal injury lawyer”, whether…
Pain and suffering after a car accident is often claimed by personal injury lawyers for clients but can the award be reduced if the claimant fails to take medical marijuana? The Supreme Court of BC said the injury claimant’s personal injury award should not be reduced for failing to take medical cannabis (Glesby v. MacMillian,2014 BCSC 334).…
In this personal injury rollerblading case(Chabot v. Chaube,2014 BCSC 300) The claimant was not obliged to remove her inline skates to cross at a marked crosswalk but, having chosen to skate across the crosswalk, she was required to take reasonable precautions for her own safety considering her speed and visibility. Rollerblading within a marked crosswalk is not…