From time to time I ask you, the readers, for topics you have an interest in, hoping that your suggested topic will relate to the “achieving justice” theme of this column. I could count the number of topic ideas I’ve
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Consider this statement: “The choice not to wear your seatbelt is a choice not to take a reasonable step to look after your own safety.” The fellow who recently received his 28th ticket for failing to wear a seatbelt would
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A recent court decision illustrates the risk that a trial represents, particularly a jury trial, and the powerful incentive that something called a “formal offer” can be to settle a case instead of going to trial. It is a decision
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“Beg, borrow or steal” A quick internet search comes up with definitions of the expression that include: “to do whatever is necessary to get something” and “obtain by any possible means”. The expression comes up often when I am advising
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A designated driver is seriously injured when her drunk passenger grabs the steering wheel, causing her to lose control and crash. Fair financial compensation for her injuries and losses is assessed at close to $800,000.00. ICBC denies the claim and
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Two movie scenes came to mind as I read the carefully considered reasons for judgment of Mr. Justice Gordon Weatherill in Wallman v. John Doe, ICBC and others, a decision released last week after a 7 week trial. One scene
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With darkness fallen, you don’t notice that city workers have dug an unmarked pit in the middle of your favourite walking path. You fall and suffer a complex leg fracture, requiring plates and screws. You are off work as a
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As I came down the stairs at the office, feeling the bounce of my belly excess, I realized that it was New Year’s resolution time once again. Spending time on the weekend meeting with yet another injured victim of a
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“Prove it” can mean something completely different from one courtroom to the next if one courtroom is hearing a criminal case and the other is hearing a civil one. The court requires criminal charges to be proven beyond a reasonable
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One key goal that we strive for in our legal system is consistency. If two different judges are faced with similar facts, we expect that they will come to similar conclusions. In the context of a personal injury claim, we
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