Labor & Employment Law › Criminal Law › Personal Injury

Worker Guilty Of Obstructing MOL Inspector By Refusing To Answer Questions

A worker who refused to answer a Ministry of Labour inspector’s questions during an accident investigation has been found guilty of obstructing the inspector....more

Education Update, No. 2 - April 2013: Keeping Your Students Safe From Child Abductions

A loud, beeping Amber Alert and accompanying visual banner filled the homes and screens of area television viewers on the evening of January 14, 2013, announcing the abduction of a five-year-old student from a Philadelphia...more

Escalating Penalties: Alberta OHS Convictions For 2012 – What Can Employers Expect For The Year Ahead?

A person who contravenes Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, Regulations or Code is liable, for a first offence, to a fine of not more than $500,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months and, for a...more

Milwaukee Common Council President Proposes Change In Way Milwaukee Police Department Chief Is Hired

Currently the City of Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission (“FPC”) hires the Chief of the Milwaukee Police Department (“MPD”). Recently, several high-profile incidents, such as the death of Derek Williams in MPD custody and...more

Youth Soccer League Sued Over Molester Coach

The parents of a girl who was raped by her youth soccer coach when she was 13 are suing the local soccer league organization for negligence in failing to adequately vet the coach before allowing him access to children....more

Bank Liability to Non-Customers in a Ponzi Scheme

The morning news reports flashes a report that your customer was actually a Ponzi scheme and defrauded numerous people. Of course, this is terrible news for the innocent victims, but, you ask yourself, could my bank be...more

Addressing Workplace Hazards: Law To Be Clarified By Alberta’s Highest Court

The Alberta Court of Appeal has agreed to hear an employer’s appeal of a judgment of the Court of Queen’s Bench which overturned acquittals, by a Provincial Court judge, of two charges under the Alberta Occupational Health...more

Instruct+

Society of Solicitor Advocates announce launch of Instruct+ App...more

Criminal Guilty Plea from Supervisor Not Present, Not Aware of Hazardous Activity

A supervisor at a Quebec automobile dealership has pleaded guilty to a criminal charge arising out of a workplace accident at which he was not present. He was not even aware of the employees’ hazardous practice that caused...more

Directors’ Liability for Safety: Not just Small-Company Directors are at Risk in Ontario

In an unusual development, a director of a medium-sized company has been personally found guilty and fined under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The company’s Internet site states that its field personnel include a...more

Bar Owners Facing Wrongful Act Manslaughter Charges after Employee’s Wrong-Way Accident on Highway 401

Companies and their owners are increasingly considering the risk of criminal safety-related charges and fines. We have recently reported on the criminal fine against Metron Construction under the Bill C-45 amendments to...more

Criminal Prosecutor Appeals $200,000 fine in Metron Construction Quadruple Fatality Case

The Toronto Star is reporting that Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney General has appealed a judge’s decision that imposed a $200,000 fine against Metron Construction in the 2009 scaffold collapse in which four workers...more

Metron/Swartz Sentencing Decisions now Online: Company Criminally Liable for Site Supervisor’s Actions

On July 13, 2012, the Ontario Court of Justice made its historic sentencing decisions against Metron Construction Corporation and its owner, Joel Swartz. The court’s reasons for decision – one for each of Metron and Mr....more

$60 Million and Counting – Lessons from Penn State

On July 23, the NCAA imposed severe monetary and participation sanctions on the Penn State football program with the purpose of bringing about a cultural change at the school. NCAA President Mark Emmert stated “the...more

$200,000 Criminal Safety Fine for Company, $90,000 OHSA Fine for Director in Deaths of 4 Workers

We recently reported that Metron Construction had pleaded guilty to criminal negligence in respect of the Christmas Eve 2009 deaths of four workers who fell 13 floors when a suspended work platform collapsed. On Friday,...more

First Ontario Company Convicted of Criminal Safety Charges: Christmas Eve Scaffold Collapse

On Christmas Eve, 2009, four workers died and a fifth was seriously injured when the scaffold they were standing on to effect repairs to the exterior of an apartment building in Etobicoke, Ontario collapsed and fell thirteen...more

Employers Who Have Nothing Nice to Say Should Say Nothing at All

With high unemployment rates comes increased demand on human resource departments to provide employee references. Even though many employers increasingly shield themselves from providing insight into the former employment...more

Compensation Awards in Sexual Assault Cases - Case Summary #2

M.B. v. 2014052 Ontario Ltd. (Deluxe Windows of Canada), 2012 ONCA 135 M.B. moved to Canada in 2002 and began working at Deluxe Windows of Canada (“Deluxe Windows”) in December 2003 as a commissioned salesperson. She...more

Top 5 Celebrity Legal Stories of 2011

5. Charlie Sheen sues Warner Bros. for firing him. Is there anyone in the US who doesn’t know that actor Charlie Sheen is filled with tiger blood and is —duh!— winning... 4. Justin Bieber accused of fathering a child. In...more

Editor’s Choice: Top Five Legal News Stories of the Day

Here are some news items we thought would interest you. • Parents win record-setting $150 billion over son’s injuries, death. For Robert Ray “Robbie” Middleton, the fun and happiness that comes with a birthday didn’t...more

John Doe v Gerald Sandusky, Second Mile, Penn State University

Jerry Sandusky Civil Complaint

Civil complaint filed against Gerald (Jerry) Sandusky on 11/30/2011 on behalf of John Doe A, one of Sandusky's alleged sexual victims, who was ten years old at the time. Quote: "Sandusky sexually abused John Doe A over...more

Weekly Law Resume - September 15, 2011: Qualified Immunity Does Not Apply Where Officer Mistakenly Pulls Gun Instead of Taser

Maria Torres, et al. v. City of Madera, et al. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (August 22, 2011) This case is an important progression in stun-gun-related police liability law, establishing how mistaken-draw cases should...more

Basics of Legal Evidence

A discussion about what is legal evidence, and the threshold that must be met before a piece of evidence can be introduced in court....more

Lawsuit Ensues After Housekeeper Brutally Attacks Assisted Living Patient

Is it too much to ask for a safe place for our loved ones to live? Sure expansive bathrooms and gourmet food are nice, but at the very least, shouldn't we be able to expect a safe environment free from violence? Yet as an...more

Ain’t No Business Like Snow Business

Is hurling snowballs really that big a deal?! Last week, it was the Cincinnati Bearcats mascot; this week, it’s Dwight Schrute and Jim Halpert — one gets arrested, the other two undergo corrective counseling. Having...more