BC needs a new Wrongful Death Act
Four organizations have been leading a call for a Wrongful Death Act in British Columbia since late 2005, and more than 100 other groups have signed on in support of their recommendations. The efforts continue to be led by the Wrongful Death Law Reform Group, BC Coalition of People with Disabilities, Trial Lawyers Association of BC and the Coalition Against No-Fault.
An anthology of real-life stories of wrongful death, In Their Name, was submitted to the BC Attorney General’s Ministry in 2008 several months after the provincial government concluded a consultation (September 2007) regarding the laws in BC that govern cases of wrongful death and compensation of fatal injuries. A related video, Wrongful Death Reform, was produced in 2009.
Building on discussions in 2009 with BC’s current Attorney General, i.e. the Honourable Mike de Jong, the Trial Lawyers Association of BC submitted a document that outlines six objectives for reforming the existing legislation, references superior laws in effect at present in five US-based jurisdictions and provides a blueprint for specific wording that should be used in a new piece of legislation for British Columbia.