George was called to the Bar in 1982 and has practiced primarily in the area of civil litigation throughout his career. He received a degree in Mathematics from the University of Waterloo and is a graduate of Queen’s University Law School in Kingston, Ontario, winning prizes in contracts law and mediations and arbitrations.
George has been certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as a specialist in Civil Litigation and has been an instructor of Civil Litigation at the Bar Admission Course in Toronto.
Although the focus of George’s practice has been in the areas of personal injury, insurance defence and related areas, he also has extensive experience and expertise in employment law and wrongful dismissal, injunctions and equitable relief, real estate litigation, estates litigation and a wide variety of other commercial litigation. George has extensive training and experience in mediations and alternative dispute resolution.
George’s personal injury experience includes claims arising in the context of car accidents, falls, dog bites, products liability, assaults and others. He has experience with complex personal injuries, including fatalities, spinal cord injuries (paraplegia and quadriplegia), traumatic brain injuries (head injuries) and serious orthopaedic and psychiatric injuries.
George has experience dealing with claims arising in the context of automobile liability policies, homeowners policies, comprehensive general liability policies, excess and umbrella polices, fleet and garage policies and others. Claims which he has handled have involved a wide range of insurance issues, including coverage, tort, bodily injury, fire, theft, property, occupier’s liability, products liability, fidelity and employee dishonesty, statutory accident benefits, and underinsured, uninsured and unidentified motorists and subrogation.
These claims have involved issues such as future income loss and future care claims, present value determinations, income tax gross ups, discount rates, structured settlements and claims of minors and other parties under a disability.
Accident benefits mediations and arbitrations in which George has been involved have dealt with a variety of accident benefits issues including income replacement benefits (including self-employed claimants and entitlement after age 65), non-earner benefits, post-two year benefits, care giver benefits, medical and rehabilitation benefits, attendant care benefits, housekeeping and home maintenance expenses, death and funeral expenses, catastrophic designations and procedural issues dealing with termination of benefits as well as bad faith and special award claims.
George is also experienced with related actions dealing with collateral benefits, including disability claims (both private disability insurance (LTD) and CPP disability), as well as related actions before the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (WSIAT), and the CPP Appeals Tribunal.
George has dealt extensively with a wide variety of experts, including actuaries, economists, forensic accountants, doctors and other health care providers, engineers and investigators.
Trials and arbitrations in which George has been involved have dealt with most of these issues. George has extensive experience with procedural and interlocutory matters including appeals of interlocutory and final orders at all levels of the courts. George has appeared before many different courts and tribunals in Ontario, including the Federal Court of Canada, the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board, the Ontario Municipal Board, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario and the CPP Review Tribunal.
George has extensive training and experience in mediations and alternative dispute resolution. He has been a mediator and judge at the International Competition for Mediation Advocacy.
Cases in which George has been counsel have been reported in the Ontario Reports, the Canadian Bankruptcy Reports, Carswell Practice Cases, the Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure and other trade and business publications. He has spoken at various continuing education and other programmes on a variety of legal topics.
