Your Personal Injury Lawyers
Call 1-888-404-5167
Preszler Injury Lawyers

Saadati v. Moorhead: A New Era for Personal Injury Law in Canada


Dairn Shane and Joseph Fearon were successful at the Supreme Court of Canada in a landmark ruling on psychological injuries, Saadati v. Moorhead. Mr. Shane argued the case at all levels of appeal and at trial.

Mr. Saadati suffered serious psychological injuries as a result of multiple car accidents. The Court of Appeal ruled that he was not entitled to any compensation, finding he had to meet a more difficult legal test because his injuries were psychological in nature and not physical. Mr. Shane appealed their ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada.

You can watch a video of the full Saadati v. Moorhead hearing here.

Saadati v. Moorhead and Mental Health Rights

Justice Brown found that Canadian law includes important rights protecting mental health:

That right is grounded in the simple truth that a person’s mental health — like a person’s physical integrity or property … is an essential means by which that person chooses to live life and pursue goals … And, where mental injury is negligently inflicted, a person’s autonomy to make those choices is undeniably impaired, sometimes to an even greater degree than the impairment which follows a serious physical injury … To put the point more starkly, “[t]he loss of our mental health is a more fundamental violation of our sense of self than the loss of a finger …”

Before this ruling, only people who have a “recognized psychiatric diagnosis” were able to recover compensation for mental injuries. In contrast, that requirement had never existed for someone claiming compensation for physical injuries. Why the difference? Mr. Shane argued successfully that there was no good or fair reason to treat people with mental and physical injuries differently. The court agreed:

This and other mechanisms by which some courts have historically sought to control recovery for mental injury are, in my respectful view, premised upon dubious perceptions of psychiatry and of mental illness in general, which Canadian tort law should repudiate.

The stigma faced by people with mental illness, including that caused by mental injury, is notorious … often unjustly and unnecessarily impeding their participation, so far as possible, in civil society. While tort law does not exist to abolish misguided prejudices, it should not seek to perpetuate them.

In a 9-0 ruling, the Supreme Court of Canada restored Mr. Saadati’s compensation and clarified that Canadian law will not draw unfair distinctions between mental injuries and physical injuries.

The court’s decision also clarified that in some cases the court may find that someone has been injured without the need for expensive medical expert reports, improving access to justice for people with psychological injuries.

Psychological Injuries Deserve Fair Compensation

This landmark case removes barriers to compensation for people who suffer psychological injuries and is an important step toward showing Canadians with psychological injuries the equal respect they deserve.

This ruling will also impact other areas of the law, such as employment law and class actions, where courts will now have broader powers to award compensation for mental distress.

The case was strongly defended by the insurance industry in Canada, hiring a team of lawyers and paying for a separate legal team to intervene at the hearing to argue that psychological injuries should be approached with skepticism. Fortunately for accident victims, our highest court rightly rejected their arguments.

How Saadati v. Moorhead Will Affect Canadian Law

More information on the case and its broad implications for Canadian law can be found at the following legal publications:

If you or someone you know has suffered a psychological injury, Preszler Injury Lawyers can help. Call 1-800-JUSTICE today for a free case evaluation.

 
Call us now at
1-800-JUSTICE
®

151 Eglinton Ave W,
Toronto, ON
M4R 1A6
Fax: 1-855-364-7027
Toll Free: 1-888-608-2111
4145 N Service Rd
Burlington, ON
L7L 4X6
Fax: 1-855-364-7027
Toll Free: 1-888-608-2111
2 County Ct Blvd #400,
Brampton, ON
L6W 3W8
Fax: 1-855-364-7027
Toll Free: 1-888-608-2111
105 Consumers Drive
Whitby, ON
L1N 1C4
Fax: 1-855-364-7027
Toll Free: 1-888-608-2111
92 Caplan Ave #121,
Barrie, ON
L4N 0Z7
Fax: 1-855-364-7027
Toll Free: 1-888-608-2111
380 Wellington St Tower B, 6th Floor,
London, ON
N6A 5B5
Toll Free: 1-888-608-2111
2233 Argentia Rd Suite 302,
East Tower Mississauga, ON
L5N 6A6
Toll Free: 1-888-608-2111
1 Hunter St E,
Hamilton, ON
L8N 3W1
Fax: 1-855-364-7027
Toll Free: 1-888-608-2111
459 George St N,
Peterborough, ON
K9H 3R9
Fax: 1-855-364-7027
Toll Free: 1-888-608-2111
22 Frederick Street,
Suite 700
Kitchener, ON N2H 6M6
Fax: 1-855-364-7027
Toll Free: 1-888-608-2111
116 Lisgar Street, Suite 300
Ottawa ON
K2P 0C2
Toll Free: 1-888-608-2111
10 Milner Business Ct #300,
Scarborough, ON
M1B 3C6
Toll Free: 1-888-608-2111
*consultation offices

DISCLAIMER: Please be advised that the header image and other images throughout this website may include both lawyer and non-lawyer/paralegal employees of Preszler Injury Lawyers and DPJP Professional Corporation and unrelated third parties. Our spokesperson John Fraser, or any other non-lawyer/paralegals in our marketing is not to be construed in any way as misleading to the public. Our marketing efforts are not intended to suggest qualitative superiority to other lawyers, paralegals or law firms in any way. Any questions regarding the usage of non-lawyers in our legal marketing or otherwise can be directed to our management team. Please also note that past results are not indicative of future results and that each case is unique and that case results listed on site are from experiences across Canada and are not specific to any province. Please be advised that some of the content on this website may be out of date. None of the content is intended to act as legal advice as each situation is independent and unique and requires individual legal advice from a licensed lawyer or paralegal. For legal advice on your individual situation – we can provide legal guidance after you have contacted our firm and we have established a lawyer-client relationship contractually. Maximum contingency fee charged is 33%. Finally, our usage of awards and logos for awards does not suggest qualitative superiority to other lawyers, paralegals or law firms. All awards received from third party organizations have been done so through their own reasonable evaluative process and do not include any payment for these awards except for the use of the award logos for our marketing assets. We are also proud to service additional provinces like Alberta, British Columbia and Nova Scotia.