The answer appears to be YES. That’s the conclusion of a recently released report by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation. The common typecast of the drunk driver was male – often a young man: “for several decades, road safety research has demonstrated the fatalities and injuries related to road crashes (due to alcohol or other  more...

“Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behaviour…” (Wikipedia definition). In the 21st century, the caution exercised in protecting the rights of others – including not damaging their property or causing them injury (physical, reputational, mental, emotional) – shapes almost every area of life: from owning  more...

We’ve heard it from advertisers for years: using a specific product will make you look younger, feel happier, express more confidence, __________________(you fill in the blank)… But some recent cases have caused advertisers to be more cautious about stating what their products will do. Example #1: in September, Reebok agreed to pay $25 million in  more...

With the advent of electronic records has come heightened concerns about breach of privacy (see “Has our obsession with privacy gone too far?”). One step beyond breach of privacy – particularly in the age of social media – is the potential for defamation. Defamation is the false or unjustified injury to the good reputation of  more...

AirBNB, the website that allows people to list their homes for “rent” like hotel rooms, has been in the news lately – for one, because of its monetary valuation of billions of dollars, and second because of what is being called a vacation rental horror story where an AirBNB user’s apartment was ransacked by her  more...

It sounds rather crass – but that question is often what our courts wrestle with when one party is legally liable for injury to another. Questions considered: What degree of medical and attendant care will be required?  What lifestyle changes will this injury necessitate?  How will those closest to the injured party be affected? And  more...

Having celebrated our nation this past weekend, I’m reminded that we as Canadians have much for which to be thankful! One of the cornerstones to our culture – often absent in other parts of the world – is the high esteem in Canada for justice, the rule of law and due legal process. To be  more...

They are the so-called “cluster” cases:  four individual bodily-injury claims settled by Ontario courts in 2006 and 2007. And the damages for injury to each person was in excess of $10 million.  For those of us concerned about the potential cost of legal liability, these cases set a dubious “high water mark”. Question: who pays  more...

Full disclosure:  I am not a dog lover.  But I’m delighted to know its officially “Dog Bite Prevention Week” (May 15th to 21st). I do have “grand-dogs”.  And a family member just converted from an avowed position of “dog-aversion” to acquiring a four-legged friend (that cries through the night and piddles in inappropriate places). The  more...

As the costs mount from the Fukushima nuclear accident, more observers are wondering if we can afford the potential for economic fallout from the production of nuclear power. Our globe is now home to over 400 nuclear power plants – many of which have little or no insurance coverage against accidental damage. Why is nuclear  more...