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The law has a few legal mechanisms available to analyze how a global pandemic may impact contractual obligations between people in our society, and we will address two in this blog post.

The first is found in many commercial contracts. These contracts often contain clauses that address events that are beyond the contracting-parties’ control, which are often referred to as “force majeure” clauses.

The second is a common law doctrine that is often applied to contracts, including employment contract, that fail to have specific clauses. This doctrine is called the law of frustration.

A recent case from the BC Supreme Court addresses both legal principles so it is a useful summary to address these principles and how they may be looked at in the context of COVID-19.

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Woman in suit typing on laptop

In short, no. If you believe that you have a potential claim, then you need to set out your factual allegations and claims before the time limit set in the BC Human Rights Code. That goes for most claims and is also true for the work discrimination case example below.

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Two doctors in full scrubs

Medical malpractice is a common occurrence. There are many cases of medical malpractice in BC every year. Medication errors, delays in diagnosis, misdiagnosis, surgical and/or anesthesia errors are some examples. Victims of medical malpractice may be entitled to compensation, although the process is complicated, and working with a medical malpractice lawyer is highly recommended. This post is meant to provide a rudimentary understanding about medical malpractice cases. For more specific opinion about your case, we encourage you to contact us for a consultation, without obligations.

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traumatic brain injury claims and settlements in victoria bc

Traumatic brain injuries often change people’s lives. That is why brain injury claims often attract large monetary awards for loss of income and future care. However, not all brain injuries are similar. Their treatment and claim procedures depend on many factors. Read on to learn more, and contact us today to speak to one of our expert brain injury lawyers.

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how to fire an employee properly

An employer may terminate and employee for many different reasons, such as: selling the business; employee misconduct; bankruptcy; business restructuring; and many others. It would be impossible to cover all scenarios in this one post. However, we can offer some general guidelines for all employers, who need to embark upon the unfortunate situation of firing an employee.

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Employment Lawyer

The fees vary based on the service or issue. For example, if you want a contract reviewed or drafted then the expense will differ from representation in a wrongful dismissal or human rights claim. The process starts with a free consultation. In this consultation we can usually identify likely options to deal with the employment issue facing you or your business. In small matters such as a contract review, a free consultation may be all you require as we can often determine if you need representation or if you can manage the issue on your own.

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WorkSafeBC WCB Lawyer Victoria BC

What does HOM charge for WorkSafeBC / WCB cases?

Our firm charges a standard hourly rate plus applicable taxes and expenses. The hourly rate will range based on the experience of the lawyer you hire to work on your case from $275 per hour to $450 per hour. In general, your bill should cost roughly the same regardless of the experience of the lawyer as the more experienced lawyer should take less time than a less experienced lawyer. Your end product should always be excellent.

Expenses depend upon the case and the need for evidence. They can range from straightforward office expenses of file opening fees, faxes, photocopying, printing, and courier expenses to more technical expenses such as court filing and service fees, clinical records, and expert report fees. Any expense that is going to cost more than $200 such as an expert report will be discussed with the client beforehand.

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Writing A Will In BC

If you believe that you were unfairly excluded from a will, then you may be able to bring forward a claim to revise the will. However, you must be aware that there are time limits within which this claim must be brought. Read on to learn more about will variation claims, the time limitation to file, as well as some possible exceptions to this time limit.

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blue office building with windows

There has been some news that a number of changes to the Canada Labour Code (the “Code”) have started on September 1, 2019. This comes after the Canadian government recently stated a number of amendments from Bill C-63, Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 2, and Bill C-86, Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2. These legislation amendments will affect the rights and responsibilities of an estimated 900,000 federal employees and about 18,000 federally regulated employers.

These specific amendments relate to Part III of the Code, the labour standards that are related to many different topics from vacations, breaks, leaves of absences, holiday pay, scheduling, and more.

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cutting up divorce papers

Although all couples come together with the hopes of never breaking-up, unfortunately break-ups happen often and certain rules are in place to protect both parties because of this. When it comes to marriages and marriage-like relationships, there are certain time limitations for filing family law claims that everyone should be made aware of. Please see below for more information on these specific time limitations.

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