Brieanne Brannagan

The plaintiffs brought a medical malpractice action against an emergency room physician following the death of their 27-year-old daughter from a cerebellar stroke.

The patient had presented to the emergency department with nausea, vomiting, and weakness, and was discharged with a diagnosis of intoxication.

The next day, she was found at home with severe trauma and a massive stroke, from which she died.

The court dismissed the action, finding that the physician met the standard of care, as the patient exhibited no focal neurological signs warranting a gait assessment or CT scan.

The court also found that causation was not proven, accepting expert evidence that the stroke likely occurred the following day due to trauma.

The midwife and physician defendants sought costs for a motion to vary and settle the terms of an order requiring the plaintiffs to undergo genetic testing.

The parties had settled most issues, but the defendants were successful on the sole contested issue regarding whether the testing laboratory's reports must comply with Rules 33.06 and 53.03(2.1).

The court awarded costs of $12,500 to each of the moving parties, payable in the cause, reflecting partial success and proportionality.

The midwife and physician defendants moved to vary a previous order requiring the plaintiffs to undergo independent medical examinations involving genetic testing.

The variation sought to change the designated laboratory from GeneDX to Blueprint Genetics and extend the deadline, as GeneDX no longer performed testing for legal cases.

The plaintiffs agreed to the change but requested a condition that the laboratory's reports comply with Rules 33.06 and 53.03(2.1) of the Rules of Civil Procedure.

The court granted the motion to vary the laboratory and deadline, but declined to impose the requested condition, finding that the rules apply to examining health practitioners and experts intended to be called at trial, not to the laboratory conducting the tests.

The plaintiffs brought an action against several physicians involved in the treatment of their son, alleging a failure to diagnose Fragile X Syndrome, which led to the birth of a second child with the same genetic disorder.

The plaintiffs moved to amend their statement of claim to provide greater particularity, while the defendant physician moved to strike the claim, arguing he owed no duty of care to the parents of his patient.

The Superior Court of Justice granted the motion to amend, finding it did not introduce a new, statute-barred cause of action.

The court dismissed the motion to strike, holding that it was not plain and obvious that a novel duty of care could not be recognized between a physician and the parents of a patient in the context of genetic testing and family planning.

In an obstetrical malpractice action, the defendant midwives and physicians brought motions for an order compelling the infant plaintiff and his biological parents to undergo blood tests for specific genetic testing.

The defendants argued that the infant's severe neurocognitive impairments may have a genetic etiology rather than being caused by perinatal hypoxia.

The plaintiffs opposed the motions, arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction to order genetic testing due to the federal Genetic Non-Discrimination Act, and that the defendants were liable for all injuries under the thin skull doctrine regardless of any genetic predisposition.

The court held that it has the authority to order genetic testing under section 105 of the Courts of Justice Act and Rule 33.

Finding that the possibility of a genetic cause was not frivolous and that the factors of fairness, necessity, and prejudice weighed in favour of the defendants, the court ordered the infant and his biological parents to provide blood samples for genetic testing.