In two recent cases, Canadian patients have successfully sued their physicians for failing to adequately explain the procedures to which they were consenting. "Physicians who are unaware of literacy issues and the need to communicate clearly with their patients may put themselves at risk of being sued."

"Plain language: lighting the way through informed consent," Clarity, Deborah Gordon, 1997

"Far too many collective agreements continue to be cluttered with archaic, cumbersome language, better suited to the distant past. These agreements are full of legalese, which is sometimes thought to make things precise or legal. It does neither. On the contrary, legalese can be dangerously ambiguous, leading to unnecessary disputes."

"Writing agreements in plain language," David C. Elliot, Dispute Resolution Journal, 1995

In British Columbia, the government used plain language in the new Small Claims Court Act and all court forms and brochures. The Court Registrar can now handle a 40% increase in cases with the same staff.

Office of the Plain Language Advisor, Management Board of Cabinet

Citibank has experienced a marked decrease in litigation since it simplified its documents.

Rapport: News about Plain Language, #19, 1996

Georgina Lynch, an Australian Corporate Counsel, recently reported: "With a plain language lease I had over 50% of my shopping centre tenants return their lease before the completion date. This is unprecedented!"

"Plain Language in Law: the view from Australia,"Judith Bennett, Plain Language In Progress Conference, 1995

"Since 1974, the number of product liability actions in federal courts has increased eight-fold. In many of these actions, plaintiffs claimed that inadequate directions or warnings caused their personal injury or loss."

"Products liability: Meeting the standards for adequate instructions," P.S. Helyar, Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 1992

Copyright © 2008 Clear Language and Design, Toronto Centre for Community Learning & Development

CLAD Home

Designed and hosted by in collaboration with CLAD