Dairn Owen Shane

Dairn was born in Ontario, did an honours degree in psychology from McMaster University, and ultimately moved to British Columbia, where he completed his law degree at the University of British Columbia in 1992. He has a published paper in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, several published short stories, and was a legal writer with Canada Law Book for over a decade. He is currently a member of the Law Society of British Columbia, the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association, and the Trial Lawyers of British Columbia.

Dairn commenced practicing law in 1994, focusing on civil litigation, family, and criminal. In 2000, he joined Simpson Thomas & Associates, focusing exclusively on motor vehicle accident claims. During his 16 year tenure there he resolved over 2000 claims through negotiation, mediation or trial, ultimately becoming a partner in January 2014. He always acts on behalf of injured people against insurance companies.

While Dairn believes that negotiated settlements are to be preferred where they are fair, he also believes that trials are necessary where the insurer is not being fair, and is quite willing to go to trial where required. He has done approximately 100 trials throughout his career, including jury trials, and has also appeared numerous times in the British Columbia Court of Appeal, recently on an important case that defined how costs were to be awarded to those who brought trials for personal injury claims – a ruling that came down in favour of injured persons. Dairn also had one appearance in the Supreme Court of Canada in 2003, where he successfully won a constitutional challenge to a British Columbia law under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, resulting in that law being struck down as unconstitutional.

In 2016 Dairn joined Preszler Injury Lawyers Law as part of their expansion into British Columbia. He is bringing his vast knowledge and experience and widening his practice to include all injury claims, regardless of whether they are caused by motor vehicle accidents. In June of 2017, Dairn won a landmark victory for injured people at the Supreme Court of Canada by making it easier for people with psychological injuries to receive fair compensation for their injuries. The decision removed some misguided prejudices from Canadian law, making the law a little more fairer for people with psychological injuries. Just a little more than one month later, Dairn used his Supreme Court of Canada decision to secure a $1.8M jury verdict for a client with psychological injuries.

Dairn’s most valuable asset is his down to earth approach to claims, his approachability, his ability to empathize with injured people, and his ability to explain the legal process and how it works in terms that are easy to understand. At the same time, his vast experience gives him the ability to handle the most legally and medically complex claims, and to achieve fair compensation for his clients, be it through voluntary resolution or trial.

*Past results are not indicative of future results.

**Lawyer is operating under a professional/law corporation.