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假日派对勿醉驾

What One Drunk May Cost You – Advice on Creating a Safer Holiday Party
来源: Robert Durante, Oatley Vigmond personal injury law firm

随着圣诞临近,假日派对也接踵而至。但是假日悲剧的主要罪魁祸首——醉酒驾驶的肇事者需要承担法律后果。Oatley Vigmond律师事务所的人身伤害律师杜朗蒂建议人们不要在派对喝酒狂欢后驾车回家。

Holiday Parties abound as Christmas nears. But impaired driving, which is the leading cause of holiday tragedies, bears legal consequences. Robert Durante, a personal injury lawyer at Oatley Vigmond advises not to drive away from a party intoxicated.


在圣诞将至时,与亲朋好友欢聚的假日派对也会接踵而至,其中不乏朋友和雇主提供的畅饮派对。但是在几年前,曾有一名女性在办公室参加完圣诞派对后,因为在暴风雨中醉驾回家而在途中发生车祸,最终导致她大脑受伤全身残疾。这名女士的名字叫琳达(
Linda),她曾在巴里市担任房地产经纪人。

This is always a fun time of year with plenty of food, friends, and often open bars provided by friends and employers. That was certainly the case a few years back when a woman became drunk at her office Christmas party, drove home in a storm and was involved in a horrific crash that rendered her brain-injured and totally disabled.  Her name was Linda and she worked at a real estate brokerage in Barrie.

如果你在过去10年间曾在安省居住过,那么你可能听说过该事件,因为当时全国媒体都竞相进行了报道。其中大部分相关报道都是负面的,并指出“醉驾者”应该对自己的行为负责。人们无法理解一个人为何能够因为在办公室派对上喝醉,继而发生车祸受伤而将她的雇主告上法庭。
If you have lived in Ontario over the past 10 years then chances are you have heard of the case because it attracted national media coverage.   Most of the coverage was negative, suggesting that a “drunk driver” should be held accountable for her actions. People could not understand how a person could sue her employer for becoming drunk at an office party and then injuring herself in a car crash? 

实际上,这些报道都未提及一个事实,那就是琳达是一名接待员,在从下午就开始的办公室派对中,她一直都在工作。当天她的老板允许员工在工作场所饮酒,为他们提供了临时的自助畅饮,并且没有进行任何控制或监督。在琳达驾车离开之前,其他一些员工觉得她喝得太多,但她的老板却认为她看起来没有问题。

What was missing from the coverage was the fact that Linda was a receptionist and was working during the office party, which started in the afternoon. Her boss allowed workers to consume alcohol in the workplace, without any control or oversight. They had a casual self-serve open bar scenario. Other employees noticed Linda had too much to drink before she left in her vehicle, yet her boss thought she seemed fine. 

 虽然法官最终的裁决有利于琳达,但他也认为她必需为自己的行为负75%的责任。换句话说,就是按照初审法官的判决,琳达只能得到25%的损害赔偿。在上诉法院以法官错误解散陪审团为由下令对本案进行重审后,案件以和解告终。

The Judge ultimately found in Linda’s favour, however, he also found that she was 75 per cent responsible for her own actions. In other words, she would only recover 25 per cent of her damages as determined by the trial Judge.  The case settled after the Court of Appeal ordered a new trial on the basis that the Judge erred in discharging the jury from the case.

 

该案凸显出“雇主有责任保证员工在工作场所的安全”的百年老法律原则。琳达案正是围绕这条法律原则展开。在雇主将酒水引入工作场所时,他们最好设立一个机制确保员工不会醉酒驾车回家,和伤害自己或他人。

The case highlighted the centuries old legal doctrine that “an employer has a duty to keep employees safe in the work place”. This century old principle is what Linda’s case was about. Once an employer introduces alcohol into the workplace, then they better have a system in place to ensure that employees do not drive home impaired and injure themselves or injure someone else.  

如何举办安全的办公室和家庭派对

HOW DO YOU MAKE OFFICE AND HOME PARTIES SAFER

从琳达案中可以得到的教训是,办公室派对应该在安全的环境中举行,尤其是在雇主提供畅饮时。实际上这对于雇主来说这并非难事,雇主可以在专门举行派对的场所举办派对,并聘请专业人员提供酒水。如果雇主在假日派对中提供酒水畅饮,那么就需要采取额外措施,并为每个员工提供免费计程车券。这样员工就没有理由再醉酒驾驶,尤其是在所有人都可以免费搭乘计程车回家时。

The lesson learned from Linda’s case is that office parties should be held in a safe environment, especially if the employer has an open bar.  How do you make them safe as an employer?  That’s simple, hire professional staff to serve alcohol and hold your party at a place that is in the business of hosting parties. If you offer an open bar at a holiday party, take the extra step and provide free taxi vouchers to every single employee. There is no reason to drink and drive, especially if everyone has free access to a taxi ride home. 

 

醉酒驾驶可能是一个永远都难以彻底根除的社会顽疾。鉴于雇主与员工存在特殊的“主仆”关系,如果他们打算将酒水引进工作场所,那么就必须尽到保护员工和公众的职责。

Drinking and driving is a persistent social problem that may never be completely eradicated. Employers, in light of their special “master and servant” relationship with their employees must do their part in protecting their employees and the public if they are going to introduce alcohol into the workplace. 

 

作者简介:杜朗蒂(Robert Durante)是Oatley Vigmond人身伤害律师事务所的合伙人。他致力于为严重受伤的客户和因为疏忽而失去亲人的家人辩护。他也注重于事故赔偿索赔、伤残索赔和产品责任索赔。

 

Source: Robert Durante is a partner at Oatley Vigmond personal injury law firm. Rob advocates for seriously injured clients and for families who have lost a loved one due to negligence. He also focuses on accident benefits claims, disability claims and product liability claims.

 

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