Canadian Lawyer

July/August 2020

The most widely read magazine for Canadian lawyers

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www.canadianlawyermag.com 23 the people who are most at risk for negative outcomes should they contract the virus," Vaughan wrote to Canadian Lawyer in an email. "Isolating residents is extremely difficult when members reside, eat and socialize together within the facility and particularly when facilities are at capacity." When asked how these homes can defend themselves from lawsuits emerging out of this pandemic, Vaughan stressed that the central liability issue in a tort case will focus on the standard of care. She says the fact that a resident contracted COVID-19 and sustained damages or died won't be enough for a finding of liability against a long-term care home. In a suit emerging from the pandemic, any question of a breach in the standard of care will include an assessment of whether the home followed government directives and infection control procedures, she says. While Miller says she's preparing for defences along those lines in the cases that will emerge, she's also pushing for a system-wide reassessment, which she hopes will take the form of a public inquiry. Hull&Hull_CL_Jan_15.indd 1 Hull&Hull_CL_Jan_15.indd 1 2014-12-10 3:41 PM 2014-12-10 3:41 PM "I'm telling at least the people who are contacting me to make sure that they're in touch with public health and to write to their MPP." Melissa Miller, Howie Sacks and Henry

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