Holding institutions accountable when those in their care are harmed.
We rely on institutions to keep people safe. Correctional facilities, long-term care homes, hospitals, schools, and the companies that manufacture the products we use every day all owe a duty to the people who depend on them. When those institutions fail, through abuse, neglect, unsafe practices, or a failure to act, the harm is rarely the result of a single bad actor. It is the result of systems that broke down in foreseeable, preventable ways.
At Howie, Sacks & Henry LLP, our public safety litigation practice represents individuals and families harmed by these systemic failures. We believe accountability should not stop with the last link in the chain. Where the evidence shows that foreseeable risks were ignored, warnings were overlooked, or a standard of care was breached, litigation can help uncover the truth and pursue meaningful accountability.
Why Public Safety Litigation Matters
Many of the most serious harms Canadians experience involve institutions entrusted with protecting vulnerable people and the public. In these cases, the person who directly caused an injury is often not the only party whose conduct deserves scrutiny. Public safety litigation examines the broader systems, the policies, supervision, staffing, oversight, and corporate practices that allowed preventable harm to occur.
Civil litigation has long played an important role in exposing unsafe practices, driving policy change, improving safety standards, and increasing accountability. Through careful investigation and evidence-based advocacy, it can help identify systemic failures, obtain compensation for those affected, promote transparency, and encourage safer practices.
Areas of Focus
Gun Safety Litigation in Canada
Illegal firearm trafficking poses a major public safety threat in Ontario. Data shows that most guns used in violent crimes are smuggled from outside the country, revealing a systemic issue. These supply chains bring dangerous weapons into communities, often with little oversight. Gun safety litigation investigate whether others, beyond the shooter, can be held legally responsible for harm caused by trafficked firearms.
Learn More about Gun Safety Litigation in Canada.
Correctional Misconduct, Negligence & Inquests
We represent individuals and families in cases of inmate abuse, excessive force, failure to protect, denial of medical care, and wrongful death in custody. Our experience includes claims involving federal institutions, Ontario’s correctional system, and representation at coroner’s inquests.
Learn more about Correctional Misconduct, Negligence & Inquests.
Institutional Sexual Abuse
We represent survivors of sexual abuse that occurred within institutions, schools, hospitals, long-term care homes, sports organizations, religious institutions, and correctional facilities, where those entrusted with care failed to prevent foreseeable harm. In Canada, there is no limitation period for civil sexual abuse claims, which is why experienced counsel is essential.
Learn more about Institutional Sexual Abuse.
Nursing Home Negligence
When long-term care staff fall below the standard of care residents are owed, through bed sores, falls, medication mismanagement, neglect, or physical and sexual abuse, we advocate for our clients’ dignity and safety. We help families understand their rights and hold facilities accountable for the harm done to vulnerable loved ones.
Learn more about Nursing Home Negligence.
Product Liability
We hold manufacturers and distributors accountable for unsafe products, from defective consumer goods to faulty medical devices. Where a product’s design, marketing, or distribution creates an unreasonable risk to the public, beyond the conduct of any single individual, those responsible can be required to answer for the resulting harm.
Learn more about Product Liability.
Our Approach
Our public safety work shares a foundation with our broader public safety practice, using litigation to address systemic failures and prevent future harm.
Public safety litigation cases are complex, document-heavy, and often defended vigorously by well-resourced institutions and their insurers. HSH deliberately focuses on serious and catastrophic injury litigation, and we approach this work with care rather than rhetoric, relying on government data, expert analysis, medical and institutional records, and thorough legal investigation to assess whether a systemic failure contributed to preventable harm.
Our role is to evaluate legal and medical evidence, confirm liability, identify every potential source of compensation, and pursue accountability.
Speak With Our Team
If you believe a systemic failure by an institution or corporation contributed to serious injury, loss of life, or other preventable harm, our team can help you understand your options and determine whether accountability extends beyond the immediate cause of the incident.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is public safety litigation?
Public safety litigation refers to harm that results when an organization entrusted with people’s safety, such as a correctional facility, long-term care home, school, hospital, or manufacturer fails to meet the standard of care it owes, allowing preventable harm to occur.
Can an institution or corporation be held liable for harm to someone in its care?
Yes. Where an institution’s or corporation’s policies, supervision, staffing, or oversight fell below a reasonable standard and contributed to foreseeable harm, it may be held legally responsible, sometimes in addition to the individual who directly caused the injury.
What kinds of cases fall under this practice area?
Current focus areas include gun safety litigation, institutional sexual abuse, nursing home negligence, correctional misconduct and negligence and product liability, alongside broader systemic and public safety claims.
Is public safety litigation the same as a personal injury claim?
It can overlap with personal injury law, but public safety litigation typically looks further upstream, at the systems, organizations, or institutions whose conduct made the harm foreseeable or preventable, rather than only the immediate cause of an injury.
Is there a deadline to bring a claim?
Limitation periods vary by claim type. Many personal injury claims must be started within two years, but there is no limitation period for civil sexual abuse claims in Canada. Because deadlines differ and can be complex, it is important to seek legal advice early.
