What is the causal line between attempted murder and aiding suicide? The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) will grapple with this issue as it has granted leave [41420] to appeal the Court of Appeal for Ontario’s (“ONCA”) decision in R v BF, 2024 ONCA 511 [BF]. At issue before the court will be the interplay […]
Winter is often stressful as many residents attempt to clear the sidewalk in front of their house or business to avoid being sued for an unsuspecting slip or fall. In 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) settled an ambiguous area of law by extending tort liability to municipalities for improper snow removal. The SCC […]
UPDATE: The SCC ruled on this case from the bench, allowing the appeal for the reasons of Justice van Rensburg at the Ontario Court of Appeal. How does a patient who suffered an unforeseen injury during surgery prove that their surgeon was negligent? Can the injury itself provide circumstantial evidence that the standard of care […]
On October 5, 2017, the ONCA released its decision (2017 ONCA 773) on an appeal for a negligence claim made by Jordan Sacks, a man who suffered septic shock and amputations as a result of complications from bowel surgery performed at Sunnybrook Hospital. Although the jury found that the hospital, three of its doctors, and […]
In first year law school, we learn the seven parts of a tort claim: volition, duty of care, standard of care, harm, causation, remoteness, defence. Some learn these in different orders, some apply them in separate steps, and others apply multiple steps at one time during their analysis. Causation, however, has always been a main […]