In this issue - #156 February 29, 2012

If you weren’t a lawyer, what profession would you like to attempt?

If I wasn’t a lawyer, I would want to work with animals in some capacity, probably with a rescue organization.  I have a huge soft spot for animals, probably too much so.  I definitely could not be a trainer though, as those who know me know that my two cats and new dog are the bosses in my house and have my husband and I wrapped around their little paws.

Despite the fact that the divorce rate in Canada hovers between 40% and 45%, most family law disputes settle outside of the court system. While only the Supreme Court of British Columbia can grant a divorce Order, the remaining issues that couples must deal with on marriage breakdown - custody, child support, spousal support, division of assets – can all be resolved outside of the court system.

ICBC has recently demonstrated that biometrics is no longer just for Hollywood types like James Bond or Mission Impossible’ s, Ethan Hunt.  On February 16, 2012, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia issued a 42 page report and press release regarding ICBC’s use of facial recognition technology.  Interestingly, the use of facial recognition technology by ICBC came to the Privacy Commissioner’s attention because ICBC offered to assist the Vancouver Police in identification of the criminal suspects in the 2011 Stanley Cup riots by matching photos and video footage of the rioters with ICBC’s database, which according the report has 4.4 million templates (a template is created for each photo input into the system).

Medical malpractice cases are very complex.

This series of articles by BC personal injury and BC medical malpractice lawyer Paul Mitchell, Q.C., will explain the Top 7 things you need to know about  medical malpractice cases, including when a medical malpractice case should be commenced, the legal and medical issues involved, and why they are so hard to win.

Find out what is involved in these difficult cases.

#1 Quantifying Damages in Medical Malpractice Cases

Unfortunately, elder abuse occurs every day in BC. As many as one in two seniors in BC is abused. It is difficult to know when adults are being abused or neglected and often even harder to know exactly if or when to step in. Elder abuse can take many forms, both financial and non-financial. We often assume that adults can take care of themselves, but this may not always be true.

With the decline in general economic activity and increasing competition from low wage countries what can employers do to lower their labor costs?

Imagine sitting in your vehicle stopped at a red light and getting rear ended by another vehicle travelling at a very slow speed. This type of accident may cause very little damage to the vehicles involved and it may appear, at least at first glance, to be a very minor accident. Often times the parties will escape without injury; however, just because an accident occurs at a low speed does not mean that injuries cannot be caused. In fact, people can and are injured in low speed accidents in much the same way as they are injured in accidents that occur at higher speeds.

Many groups are lobbying for a change to BC wrongful death legislation. This article discusses some of the issues involved in this very emotional area of law.

Taxpayers have to be attentive to tight timelines when managing a tax dispute with the Canada Revenue Agency.

Our Court of Appeal has in a recent decision involving a Sechelt bus driver caused me to rethink obligations on the giving and receiving of working notice of termination.

The BC Government has introduced Bill 22, legislation to end the BC teacher’s strike. See Bill 22 here.

The Pushor Mitchell Apple Triathlon has been chosen as the Best Triathlon in Western Canada in the Reader’s Choice Awards of Get Out There Magazine! Thank you to everyone that volunteered, participated and voted! 2012 marks the 30th anniversary of the Kelowna Apple Triathlon, and we look forward to seeing you there on August 18th and 19th.

From our Business Law Group – Completed transaction involving the purchase, sale, leasing and financing of commercial aircraft.

Find out more about our Business Law Group: http://www.pushormitchell.com/service/business-law

It’s not uncommon for a parent making a Will to want to treat his or her children unequally. Sometimes there are very good reason why one child should receive more (or less) from a parent when that parent dies. Such reasons might include special financial needs (such as if a child has a disability that affects his or her earning ability) or gifts that were made during the parent’s lifetime that are being equalized through the Will.

Shortly before a Toronto jury left the courtroom to start deliberations at Prinze Wilson’s cocaine-trafficking trial last spring, Madam Justice Faye McWatt of the Ontario Superior Court stressed the need to respect his presumption of innocence. “It is only defeated if, and when, Crown counsel has satisfied you beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Guilty – I’m sorry, that Mr. Wilson – is guilty of the crime charged,” Judge McWatt said.