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...

Everybody buys an insurance policy for protection – the right to recovery when the unforeseen happens. However, insurance policies also extend entitlements to the insurer.  When insuring property against physical damage, the insurer has the right of subrogation. In its most common usage, subrogation refers to a situation where an insurance company attempts to recover  more...

The driverless car – an automobile using autopilot allowing it to navigate parking lots, city roads and even highways – may be coming to a street near you! Google has launched one of the most advanced road transportation projects in the world.  The program uses Google Street View and artificial intelligence software combined with video  more...

Saturday night’s stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair is already being called the deadliest of its kind in U.S. history. The crowd of roughly 10,000 were awaiting the show, and witnessing the ominous signs of the imminent storm. Quite abruptly, wind gusts – estimated to have exceeded 60 mph – tore through the metal  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...

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...