Social host liability: learn what to do if a guest is injured at your social event

If one of your guests sustains a personal injury at a social event that you are hosting, what sort of liability could you potentially be exposed to? In this article, Toronto personal injury lawyer Andrew M. Lee discusses how recent case law looks at Social Host Liability and what this could mean for you.

Party holders should be cautious as Canadian law edges towards liability for social hosts, says Andrew Lee, the founder and principal of Lee and Associates Personal Injury Lawyers. He explains that the leading case in the area is a landmark 2006 decision where the Supreme Court of Canada rejected a claim of liability against the hosts of a bring-your-own-booze party by third parties injured after attending. However, the nation’s top court left the door open to future claims in the right circumstances.

“My advice for hosts is to be wary,” Lee says. “The way the case law is rapidly evolving, I think we could very well see a case in the not-too-distant future where a court will say social host liability does exist.”

Andrew M. Lee

Andrew started Lee & Associates in 2006. Although he was a named partner at his previous firm, Andrew decided to start his own firm to focus his practice on zealously advocating for plaintiffs and helping them obtain the maximum compensation they deserve.

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