Aaron D. Atkinson
Partner
He/Him
Aaron is a leading lawyer in the areas of insurance, construction, and health law.
Biography
With nearly fifteen years of experience representing clients in his litigation practice, Aaron has established a reputation for himself as analytical, communicative, and knowledgeable. He is recognized as an emerging leader in his areas of practice and has been recognized by Lexpert in the area of Medical Negligence.
Aaron’s insurance law practice comprises insurance defence, subrogation and coverage work and he provides legal services to a broad range of insurers and self-insured organizations. Aaron’s insurance defence practice includes property damage claims, construction deficiencies, bodily injury claims, general insurance disputes and professional negligence claims against home inspectors. Aaron has defended to trial and negotiated the settlement of numerous bodily injury claims involving occupiers’ liability, products liability, assaults, sports related injuries, commercial host liability, and motor vehicle accidents. Aaron has also acted as counsel for clients before the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal.
Aaron is quickly developing a name for himself in the complex area of subrogation, working with clients on all aspects of the recovery process to resolve subrogated claims with the best interests of their insureds and organizations in mind.
Aaron advises and assists physicians with respect to civil medico-legal issues and disciplinary matters before the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC.
Originally from the Okanagan, Aaron now lives in Vancouver with his wife and two daughters. In his spare time, Aaron enjoys getting outside with his family.
Assistance Team 
Expertise
Education
University of British Columbia, J.D., 2009
University of British Columbia, B.A., 2006
Languages spoken
- English
Experience
Health Law
Aaron has acted as counsel for physicians in medical negligence actions and assisted physicians with regulatory matters before the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia.
Representative cases include:
Counsel for physicians in medical negligence actions.
Counsel for a physician on a successful application to dismiss an action for failure to disclose a triable issue: Castellanos v. Dr. Simon Triessman Inc., February 24, 2012, Kamloops Reg. 38699.
Counsel for a physician on an appeal to the Hospital Appeal Board regarding his removal from the orthopedic on-call schedule: Hicks v. Fraser Health Authority, June 17, 2013, Hospital Appeal Board.
Counsel for a physician at trial and subsequent successful applications at the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal to have the plaintiff declared a vexatious litigant: Madzar v. Sullivan, 2013 BCSC 1049, M. v. Sullivan, 2014 BCSC 1217, and Madzar v. Sullivan, 2014 BCCA 266.
Counsel for a physician at trial who prescribed an outpatient alcohol-withdrawal treatment program for an alcoholic patient: Friebel v. Omelchenko, 2014 BCSC 1039.
Counsel for physicians on an appeal of a summary trial decision dismissing the action against a group of physicians: Kemp v. Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, 2017 BCCA 229. Leave to appeal to SCC refused, [2017] S.C.C.A. No. 340.
Insurance Defence
Aaron has acted in a broad range of insurance defence matters, including disputes involving negligence, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, intentional torts and statutory causes of action.
Representative cases include:
Defending construction and engineering claims involving developers, contractors, sub-contractors, material suppliers, consultants, and design professionals.
Defending home inspectors against allegations of negligent misrepresentation and breach of contract regarding inspections of residential homes and commercial premises.
Defending E&O claims against a wide range of professionals.
Defending commercial general liability claims arising from bodily injury and property damage on a business’ premises or from its operations, work or contractual liability.
Counsel on appeal from a dismissal of an action against members of a strata council for allegedly committing a nuisance by starring into the appellants’ unit and defaming the appellants in a document distributed to the strata owners: Martin v. Lavigne, 2011 BCCA 104.
Counsel at trial for a home inspector who allegedly failed to identify water damage in a condominium: Peloquin v. Rodriguez, 2012 BCPC 165.
Counsel at trial for a home inspector who allegedly failed to identify structural deficiencies in a residential home: Thibeault v. Northwood Building Consulting Ltd., January 29, 2014, Surrey Reg. No. 69472.
Counsel for a restaurant in successful applications to the Workers Compensation Appeal Tribunal regarding alleged commercial host liability: WCAT 2014-02456 and WCAT 2014-02457.
Insurance Coverage
Aaron provides coverage advice to insurers with respect to issues of misrepresentation, material change, intentional and criminal acts, arson, bad faith, failure to cooperate and policy interpretation.
Subrogation
Aaron has acted as counsel for insurers in subrogated claims from fires, floods, motor vehicle accidents and product liability.
Professional Credentials
Leadership
- Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch, Health Law Subsection, Treasurer (2016-2020)
- Contemporary Canadian Insurance Law Casebook, Published by LexisNexis® Canada, Contributing Author (2015)
- Harper Grey Canadian Insurance Law Blog, Contributing Author
- Harper Grey Insurance Law Update Newsletter, Contributing Author
- LexisNexis® Harper Grey Insurance Law Netletter™, Contributing Author
- Vancouver Bar Association. Director-at-Large (2013-2015)
Memberships
- The Law Society of British Columbia, Member
- Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch Subsections, Member: Health Law, Insurance Law
Recognition
Recognized as a “Repeatedly Recommended” in the area of Medical Negligence by Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory®, 2024
2024Recognized as a “Leading Practitioner” in the area of Medical Negligence by Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory®
2023The Latest
