Michael is a Partner with Harper Grey and chair of our Critical Injury Group. Michael has a diverse practice and is a member of our Critical Injury, Insurance and Health Law Groups.
Read about Michael Thomas’ critical injury expertise here.
In his diverse practice, Michael has appeared in all levels of court in British Columbia, the Human Rights Tribunal, the Federal Court, and the Supreme Court of Canada
Michael is the Editor of Administrative Justice – A Practitioner’s Guide (2016), Author of the Uninsured Motorists Section of the BC Accident Claims Practice Manual (2016), Editor of the Contemporary Canadian Insurance Law Casebook (2016) and Editor and Contributor to the Canadian Insurance Law Blog.
Before joining Harper Grey, Michael was a commerce officer at the Competition Bureau of Canada. His primary duties were to enforce the civil provisions of the Competition Act. In addition, he received training from the RCMP in interview and interrogation techniques and is certified as an expert witness in the search and seizure of electronic information.
Michael has a pilot’s license and enjoys biking and trail running. He has participated in the Ride to Conquer Cancer, a cycle trip from Vancouver to Seattle that raises funds for cancer research.
Critical Injury
- Assisting an older man recover over $400,000 for a progression in dementia caused by an injury to his hip in a motor vehicle accident
- Helping a young man recover over $1.7 million in compensation for a brain injury suffered when his friend crashed into a construction site after drinking at a local pub
- Assisting a young man who was beaten and suffered a brain injury in a lacrosse game in an attempt to bring an action in negligence against the assailant’s coaches and the lacrosse league
- Helping a family recover over $2 million in compensation for a brain injury suffered by a husband who was a passenger in a car driven by his wife
- Helping a young man recover over $4.2 million in compensation for a brain injury suffered in a motor vehicle accident
Health Law
- Defending allegations that the use of Ativan to manage alcohol withdrawal placed a patient in a state of automatism such that he was not legally culpable for his actions
- Defending allegations that a patient’s brain injury was caused by inappropriate management of his diabetes with insulin
- Defending allegations that medication prescribed to manage a patient following an orthopedic surgery caused the patient to undergo respiratory arrest and suffer a brain injury
- Defending a physician who conducted an annual medical examination on an elderly pilot who crashed his plane into an apartment building
- Defending a physician in an obstetrical case in which a baby was born with a catastrophic brain injury. The legal issues of whether a fetus can bring an action in negligence against a physician and whether a fetus can bring a claim for failure to obtain informed consent were argued for the first time in British Columbia
- Defending a neurosurgeon from allegations of professional negligence in the treatment of a lesion in the patient’s cervical cord which resulted in quadriplegia
- Defending allegations of negligence against a general practitioner whose patient was taking INH and suffered a hepatotoxic event. The case has become one of the leading authorities on causation in British Columbia.
Insurance Law
- Counsel on the latest case in Canada in which the application of the Power of Attorney Undertakings applied to void coverage to an Ontario automobile policy
- Counsel on a jury trial involving a determination of the definition of a catastrophic injury and the upper limit of non-pecuniary damages that could be awarded by a jury
- Counsel on the first case in British Columbia where debilitating alcoholism was found to be a foreseeable consequence of a broken wrist suffered in a motor vehicle accident
- Counsel for various associations defending allegations that mercury in dental amalgams caused brain damage to a young lady
- Focusing on excess insurance, extra-territorial issues and ethical obligations owed by insurance companies and their insureds
- Defending lawyers and dentists against allegations of professional negligence
Class Actions
- Filing a class action against all of the police forces in British Columbia for alleged negligent investigation and enforcement of B.C.’s new impaired driving legislation
Competition Law
- Providing advice to several professional associations and insurance organization on competition law issues
- Representing a corporation which was being prosecuted for misleading advertising before the Competition Tribunal
Education
- Queen’s University, LL.B., 1998
- Queen’s University, M.A. (Economics), 1991
- Queen’s University, B.A. (Hons.), 1990
Bar Admission
- British Columbia, 1999
Leadership
- Chair, Harper Grey Critical Injury Group
- Editor, Administrative Justice: A Practitioner’s Guide, 2016, Published by LexisNexis® Canada
- Editor, Contemporary Canadian Insurance Law Casebook, 2015, Published by LexisNexis® Canada
- Mentor, Harper Grey Mentoring Program
- Editor and Contributing Author, Harper Grey Canadian Insurance Law Blog
- Contributing Author, LexisNexis® Harper Grey Insurance Law Netletter™
- Contributing Author, Harper Grey Insurance Law Update Newsletter
- President, The Medical Legal Society of BC (2014-2015)
- Executive Member, Medical Legal Society of BC
- Instructor, Advocacy, at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law
- Lecturer for continuing education seminars presented by the Trial Lawyers Association of BC and the Continuing Legal Education Society of BC
Membership
- Member, Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia
- Member, American Association for Justice
- Member, Canadian Defence Lawyers
- Member, Defense Research Institute
- Member, The Law Society of British Columbia
- Member, Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch Subsections:
- Civil Litigation
- Health Law
- Insurance Law
