When I started in January 1972, a complicated injury case took 3 days. Now, it is necessary to hear many, many experts. We now receive long reports and hear evidence from economists, actuaries, home care consultants, vocational training consultants, rehabilitation specialists, psychologists, and neuro-psychologists, as well as all the treating physicians. We used to sue just the drunk drivers who caused the accident. Now the plaintiff sues the bar that sold him the liquor, the employee who paid for the party, the host who failed to take away the car keys.
Trials are longer.
We have more long trials than we ever did before, and they continue to increase. In 1985, the court heard 80 two-week trials and 6 trials lasting six weeks each. Ten years later, we had 210 two-week trials and 21 trials that took six weeks. Some of the reasons we have more long trials are that business is more complex, there are cross-border transactions and Calgary has become a major head office city from which commercial litigation is conducted. As businesses grow, the amount of dollars involved in disputes grows and there is less willingness to compromise.