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ARTICLE · 13 SEPTEMBER 2013

New Case Shows Challenge Of Litigating Prison Assaults

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In a recent interview with Law Times, Gillian Hnatiw discusses how the recent case, Melvin v. Ontario, provides an important lesson for lawyers who have considered taking on a case against the Crown.

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Gillian Hnatiw
Gillian Hnatiw
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In a recent interview with Law Times, Gillian Hnatiw discusses how the recent case, Melvin v. Ontario, provides an important lesson for lawyers who have considered taking on a case against the Crown. This case demonstrates the challenges that lawyers face in proving liability for inmate incidents, and more specifically, the challenges involved in litigating a prisoner-on-prisoner assault.

This case stemmed from an incident in 1997 when two inmates assaulted another inmate (Melvin) at the district jail in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The injured inmate suffered a serious head injury and as a result underwent a craniotomy (a procedure involving removing part of the bone from the skull to expose the brain). An action against the two defendants began in 2003.

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