Legal Research

Litigation Claims Trends: Errors and Insights

By Dan Pinnington

Civil litigation accounts for more legal malpractice claims in Ontario than any other area of law. It is also responsible for the second highest percentage of claims costs, after real estate.

From 2000 to 2010, litigation-related claims accounted, on average, for 34 per cent of LAWPRO?s claims count (650 claims per year), and 28 per cent of our claims costs ($17.4 million per year). On average, resolving a litigation claim cost LAWPRO $38,000 over that period.

While the annual number of civil litigation claims has remained relatively consistantly in the 600-700 range over the last 10 years, the cost of litigation claims is on the upswing, with costs in 2005-2008 being much higher than earlier in the decade. We are still assessing costs for 2009 and 2010.

The new edition of LAWPRO’s webzine examines the most common civil litigation-related errors that LAWPRO sees, and the steps you can take to reduce the likelihood of a claim.

Full post as published by Slaw.ca on March 21, 2011 (boomark / email).