Criminal Negligence Lawyers Toronto

Written by Daniel Brown

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Criminal negligence means doing something, or failing to do something the law requires you to do, in a way that shows wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of others, under section 219 of the Criminal Code. Criminal negligence causing death carries a maximum of life imprisonment; causing bodily harm carries up to 10 years. Our lawyers defend criminal negligence charges in Toronto and across the GTA.

Defending criminal negligence charges in Ontario

Criminal negligence charges usually follow a tragedy: a death or serious injury at a workplace, on the road, in a home, or in someone’s care. The person charged rarely meant for anyone to be hurt. The case is about whether their conduct fell so far below what a reasonable person would have done that it deserves to be punished as a crime.

That line is where these cases are won. A mistake, or even ordinary carelessness, is not criminal negligence. The Crown must prove a marked and substantial departure from the conduct of a reasonably prudent person in the same circumstances, and that the conduct caused the death or injury.

Daniel Brown Law defends serious criminal charges across the Greater Toronto Area and Ontario, including Toronto, Newmarket, Oshawa, Brampton, and Milton. Daniel Brown Law is recognized among Canada’s top criminal defence firms — see our recognition below.

If you or someone you know has been charged with criminal negligence, contact our office immediately at (416) 297-7200.

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See the defences
The charge
Criminal Code ss. 219–221Causing death or bodily harm by criminal negligence
Crown must prove
A marked and substantial departureFrom what a reasonable person would have done
Maximum sentence
LifeCausing death; 10 years for causing bodily harm
Mandatory minimum
4 yearsOnly where a firearm is used and someone dies; otherwise none

What counts as criminal negligence?

Criminal negligence is defined by how far the conduct fell below a reasonable standard, not by what the accused intended. The same event can be an accident, a civil wrong, or a serious crime.

Sections 219 to 221 of the Criminal Code. The same marked and substantial departure standard applies whether the charge is causing death or causing bodily harm.

What the Crown must prove

An act, or a failure to do a legal duty

The accused did something, or failed to do something it was their legal duty to do. The duty must be imposed by law, by statute or the common law. A moral duty is not enough.

Wanton or reckless disregard

The conduct was a marked and substantial departure from what a reasonably prudent person would have done in the circumstances: the accused either recognized and ran an obvious and serious risk to others, or gave no thought to it.

It caused death or bodily harm

The conduct was a significant contributing cause of the death or injury. It does not have to be the only cause, but it must be more than trivial.

Key considerations

No intent to harm is required

The Crown does not have to prove that the accused meant to hurt anyone, or acted deliberately. Indifference to an obvious risk is enough. But a jury must not be told that the offence requires wilful conduct.

Acts and omissions are treated the same

The fault standard is the same whether the charge rests on something the accused did or on a legal duty they failed to perform, such as a parent’s duty to get medical help for a child or to protect a child from violence by the other parent.

Breaking a safety rule is not enough on its own

Breaching a provincial statute or regulation does not by itself make conduct criminally negligent. The rules that govern the activity are relevant, but the Crown must still prove a marked and substantial departure.

Specialized activities carry a higher standard

Some activities, such as giving medical care, require special skill. A person who undertakes one can be judged on whether they were qualified to do it, and whether they took the care it required.

Death does not have to be foreseeable

The question is whether the conduct created a risk to others that a reasonable person would have foreseen and taken steps to avoid. The Crown does not have to prove that a death was foreseeable.

The accused’s circumstances matter

The standard is objective, but it is applied to a reasonable person in the accused’s situation. Factors that limit a person’s capacity to see and weigh a risk, such as an intellectual disability, must be considered, and a young person is measured against a reasonable person of the same age.

Death or bodily harm

The charge, and the sentence it carries, depend on the consequence of the conduct.

What “bodily harm” means

Any hurt or injury that interferes with a person’s health or comfort and is more than brief or trifling. Minor bruising may not qualify; facial bruising and a head wound that took ten days to heal have been found to be bodily harm.

How long an injury lasts is not the test

There is no fixed link between how long an injury lasts and whether it is trifling. A life-threatening injury can resolve in a short time and still be bodily harm.

Causing death is a form of homicide

Criminal negligence causing death is culpable homicide. The same facts can support a charge of manslaughter, and the two are often charged together. For more, see our page on murder and manslaughter charges.

A child must be born alive

For the homicide offences, a “person” means a human being. Criminal negligence causing death does not apply to a child who has not yet been born alive and completely delivered from the mother’s body.

Where criminal negligence charges come from

Criminal negligence is not tied to any one activity. It is most often charged in these situations.

Driving and street racing

Fatal and injury collisions are the most common source. A driver who races another car can be convicted even where their own car never touched the victim’s, although who caused the death raises difficult causation questions. Many driving cases are charged as dangerous driving instead.

Workplaces and construction sites

Deaths and injuries on the job can lead to criminal charges against supervisors, managers, and employers, as well as provincial health and safety charges.

Caring for a child or a dependent person

Parents and caregivers are under legal duties toward those in their care. Failing to get medical help, or to protect a child from harm, can be charged as criminal negligence.

Medical and alternative health care

Treatment given without the needed qualifications, or without the care the treatment requires, can found a charge where a patient dies or is hurt.

Firearms

Where a firearm is used and someone dies, criminal negligence causing death carries a mandatory minimum of four years in jail.

What are the best defences to criminal negligence?

Each defence answers a different part of the Crown’s case.

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It was not a marked and substantial departure

Attacks: the fault element

The most common defence. Conduct that was careless, or even a marked departure, is not criminal negligence. We test what a reasonable person in the same situation would actually have done.

There was no legal duty

Attacks: the omission

Where the charge rests on a failure to act, the Crown must prove a duty imposed by law. A moral obligation, or a duty the law does not recognize, is not enough.

Your conduct did not cause the death or injury

Attacks: causation

The Crown must prove your conduct was a significant contributing cause. Other drivers, other people’s choices, medical complications, and events outside your control can break the chain.

An honest and reasonable mistake

Attacks: the fault element

A mistaken belief about the facts, such as a belief that a child did not need medical help, can be a defence where it was both honestly held and reasonable in the circumstances.

You could not appreciate the risk

Attacks: the standard applied

Age, immaturity, or a condition such as an intellectual disability can affect a person’s capacity to see and weigh a risk, and must be considered.

The evidence was obtained unlawfully

Attacks: the evidence itself

Charter rights breaches: excluding vehicle data, phone records, and statements obtained through unlawful searches, detentions, or without access to a lawyer.

Do not give the police a statement before you get legal advice. You are not required to, and what you say about what you did, saw, or thought can be used against you.

What is the sentence for criminal negligence in Canada?

Criminal negligence causing death carries a maximum of life imprisonment, with a four-year minimum where a firearm is used. Criminal negligence causing bodily harm carries up to 10 years.

Charge Maximum Mandatory minimum
Criminal negligence causing death, where a firearm is useds. 220(a) Life 4 years
Criminal negligence causing death, any other cases. 220(b) Life None
Criminal negligence causing bodily harm, by indictments. 221(a) 10 years None
Criminal negligence causing bodily harm, by summary convictions. 221(b) 2 years less a day None

Criminal negligence causing death is an indictable offence only. Criminal negligence causing bodily harm is a hybrid offence: the Crown chooses whether to proceed by indictment or summarily, and the choice sets the maximum sentence.

The four-year minimum where a firearm is used has been upheld as constitutional. Since July 18, 2026, the judge must impose a shorter jail term than the minimum where it would be cruel and unusual punishment for that offender, with reasons. Where no minimum applies, a conditional sentence served in the community is possible for a sentence under two years, and a discharge is possible for causing bodily harm. Sentences turn on the facts: the degree of risk, the harm caused, the accused’s background, and their remorse all matter.

Consequences of a criminal negligence conviction

A criminal negligence conviction goes far beyond the sentence. Collateral consequences can include:

  • Job loss and disqualification from certain professions and licences
  • Immigration problems, including possible deportation for non-citizens
  • Denial of entry into the United States and other countries
  • A civil lawsuit by the injured person or the family
  • A criminal record stored in the national CPIC database

For more on collateral impacts, see our page on the immigration consequences of a criminal charge.

Why choose Daniel Brown Law for your criminal negligence case?

Criminal negligence cases are built in the days after the event, when investigators reconstruct what happened. The lawyer hired early often shapes the entire case — what evidence is preserved, which experts are retained, and whether the Crown can prove a marked and substantial departure.

A nationally recognized defence firm

Daniel Brown Law is consistently recognized as one of Canada’s leading criminal defence firms. Canadian Lawyer ranks it among Canada’s top criminal law boutiques, The Globe and Mail names it one of Canada’s Best Law Firms, Best Law Firms ranks it Tier 1 for criminal defence, and Toronto Star readers have repeatedly voted it Best Law Firm.

Experience in the most serious cases

Our lawyers have successfully defended clients charged with homicide and other serious offences causing death or injury, from the first bail hearing through contested jury trials to appeals at the Court of Appeal for Ontario.

The fault line is where these cases are won

Most criminal negligence cases turn on whether the conduct was a marked and substantial departure, not on what happened. We build the defence around what a reasonable person in the same position would really have done.

Expert evidence, examined closely

These cases rely on collision reconstruction, vehicle data, workplace and engineering reports, medical records, and cause-of-death evidence. We test how it was gathered and what it really shows, with our own experts where needed.

Trial and appellate capability under one roof

The fault standard for criminal negligence is a frequent ground of appeal. Our lawyers handle both stages, so the trial record is built with appellate review in mind. Read more about our criminal appeals practice.

Across the GTA and Ontario

We appear regularly in Toronto, Newmarket, Oshawa, Brampton, Milton, Hamilton, and Barrie courthouses, and travel to other Ontario courts as a case requires.

Recognized by the profession and the public

Daniel Brown Law is named one of Canada’s Best Law Firms by The Globe and Mail, ranked among Canada’s top criminal law boutiques by Canadian Lawyer, ranked Tier 1 for criminal defence by Best Law Firms, and voted Best Law Firm by Toronto Star readers. Five of its lawyers are recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada for criminal defence.

The Globe and Mail Best Law Firms 2026, Criminal Law

Best Law Firms: Criminal Law

The Globe and Mail, 2026

Canadian Lawyer Top Criminal Law Boutique 2026-27

Top Criminal Law Boutique

Canadian Lawyer, 2026–27

Best Law Firms Canada, Criminal Defence Tier 1, 2026

Criminal Defence, Tier 1

Best Law Firms Canada, 2026

Best Lawyers in Canada 2027, Daniel Brown Law

Best Lawyers in Canada

Criminal Defence, 2027

Chambers Canada 2027, Ranked in Canada, Daniel Brown Law

Crime, Nationwide

Chambers Canada, 2027

Toronto Star Readers' Choice winner seal

Toronto Star Readers’ Choice

Best Law Firm and Best Legal Services, repeat winner

Daniel Brown Law is consistently recognized as one of Canada's leading criminal defence firms.

What happens after a criminal negligence charge?

The investigation often starts long before the charge, and what happens in those early weeks can shape the whole case.

  1. The investigation and the charge

    Police, coroners, and Ministry of Labour inspectors often investigate for months before a charge is laid. Getting advice during that time protects you and the evidence that may help you.

  2. Arrest and the bail hearing

    Many people charged with criminal negligence are released by the police or on consent. Where the Crown seeks detention, we prepare a release plan and sureties that answer its concerns.

  3. Disclosure and experts

    These cases come with reconstruction reports, inspection records, medical and autopsy evidence, and witness statements. We review all of it, ask for what is missing, and retain defence experts where needed.

  4. Election, preliminary inquiry, and resolution

    The accused chooses the court and whether to be tried by a judge alone or a jury. On a charge of causing death, a preliminary inquiry, held in the Ontario Court of Justice, can test the Crown’s case. Some cases resolve without a trial, by withdrawal or a plea to a less serious offence.

  5. Trial, and appeal if needed

    At trial the Crown must prove every element beyond a reasonable doubt, including a marked and substantial departure and causation. A conviction or sentence can be appealed.

Frequently asked questions about criminal negligence charges

Plain answers to the questions people ask most after a criminal negligence charge.

The offence

What is criminal negligence?

Under section 219 of the Criminal Code, a person is criminally negligent when, in doing anything, or in failing to do something it is their legal duty to do, they show wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of others. It is an offence where that negligence causes death or bodily harm.

What does the Crown have to prove?

An act, or a failure to perform a legal duty; that it was a marked and substantial departure from what a reasonably prudent person would have done in the circumstances; and that it caused the death or bodily harm.

Is criminal negligence the same as carelessness?

No. Ordinary carelessness can lead to a lawsuit or a provincial charge, but not a criminal negligence conviction. The conduct must be a marked and substantial departure from the standard of a reasonable person.

Does the Crown have to prove I meant to hurt someone?

No. Criminal negligence does not require any intent to cause harm. It is enough that the accused recognized and ran an obvious and serious risk to others, or gave no thought to it.

Can I be charged for failing to do something?

Yes, but only where the law imposed a duty to act, such as a parent’s duty to get medical help for a child. The same fault standard applies to acts and omissions.

Is breaking a safety regulation criminal negligence?

Not by itself. Breaching a provincial statute or regulation does not automatically make conduct criminally negligent, although the rules that govern the activity are relevant.

Death and bodily harm

What counts as bodily harm?

Any hurt or injury that interferes with a person’s health or comfort and is more than brief or trifling. How long the injury lasts is not the test.

Is criminal negligence causing death the same as manslaughter?

They overlap. Criminal negligence causing death is a form of culpable homicide, and manslaughter can be committed by criminal negligence. Learn more on our murder and manslaughter page.

Can I be convicted if my car never hit the victim?

Yes, in some cases. A driver racing another car has been convicted where the other car caused the fatal collision. The Crown must still prove that the accused’s conduct was a significant contributing cause of the death.

Defences

What if I honestly believed there was no danger?

A mistaken belief about the facts can be a defence, but only where it was both honest and reasonable in the circumstances.

Does my age or a disability matter?

Yes. The standard is objective, but the court must consider factors that limit a person’s capacity to appreciate a risk, such as an intellectual disability, and a young person is judged against a reasonable person of the same age. Learn more about youth criminal cases.

Sentencing and court process

What is the sentence for criminal negligence causing death?

The maximum is life imprisonment. Where a firearm is used, the minimum is four years. In any other case there is no minimum sentence.

What is the sentence for criminal negligence causing bodily harm?

Up to 10 years where the Crown proceeds by indictment, and up to two years less a day where it proceeds summarily. There is no minimum sentence, and a discharge or a conditional sentence is possible.

Can the judge go below the four-year minimum?

Since July 18, 2026, the judge must impose a shorter jail term where the minimum would be cruel and unusual punishment for that offender. The sentence must still be jail.

Can I get bail on a criminal negligence charge?

Yes. Bail is decided in the Ontario Court of Justice, and many people are released. Learn more about the bail hearing.

Will my criminal negligence case be tried by a jury?

It can be. The accused chooses whether to be tried in the Ontario Court of Justice by a judge alone, or in the Superior Court by a judge alone or a judge and jury. On a charge of causing death, a preliminary inquiry is available, and it is held in the Ontario Court of Justice.

Charges we defend

Learn more about some of the charges we defend. We also defend charges not listed here.

Charged with criminal negligence? Speak with Daniel Brown Law

Call Daniel Brown Law at (416) 297-7200 for a confidential consultation. We appear in courts across the GTA and Ontario.

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