Darryl A. Cruz

In a medical malpractice action concerning obstetrical negligence resulting in a child's severe brain damage, the jury found the defendant doctors breached the standard of care and caused the injuries.

The defendants brought a motion under Rule 52.08(1) arguing there was no evidence to support the causation finding, or alternatively, that the jury's answers on causation were unresponsive.

The trial judge found there was some evidence to support causation, but held that the jury's answers on causation were fatally flawed because they merely repeated the standard of care answers (as improperly suggested by plaintiffs' counsel) and failed to explain how the negligence caused the brain damage.

As a result, the trial judge refused to enter judgment on the verdict and ordered a new trial.

An appeal from a motion judge's decision certifying a class action and granting partial summary judgment against an anaesthesiologist in a bacterial infection outbreak case.

The motion judge certified the class proceeding and found the defendant breached his duty of care regarding infection prevention and control practices.

The appellate court allowed the appeal on procedural fairness grounds, finding that the motion judge reformulated the certified common issue without notice to or submissions from the parties, and then decided the summary judgment motion on the basis of this new formulation.

The court held that this violated procedural fairness and entitled the defendant to a new hearing.

Dr. Stephen Rose James sought leave to appeal portions of a motion judge's order that certified a class action and defined common issues, specifically regarding the wording of the breach of standard of care common issue and the certification of punitive damages as a common issue.

The court granted leave to appeal the breach of standard of care issue, finding serious debate regarding the procedure followed when the motion judge amended the common issue post-hearing without submissions.

However, leave to appeal the punitive damages common issue was refused, as it was deemed common to the class and not an issue extending beyond the parties' interests.

The plaintiff was diagnosed with breast cancer that metastasized to her bones.

She brought a medical malpractice action against her radiologist and general surgeon, alleging their negligence caused a nine-month delay in diagnosis.

The court found both doctors breached their respective standards of care: the radiologist failed to order further imaging for suspicious microcalcifications, and the surgeon failed to properly investigate discordant biopsy results or follow up on the original lump.

The court concluded that but for the delay, the plaintiff's cancer would have been diagnosed at Stage I and cured.

The plaintiff was awarded damages for pain and suffering, income loss, and Family Law Act claims.

The applicant, an almost 90-year-old man suffering from multiple severe, non-terminal medical conditions causing intolerable pain and suffering, sought judicial authorization for a physician-assisted death under the *Carter* constitutional exemption.

The court considered whether a medical condition must be terminal to qualify for such an exemption.

The Attorneys General took no position, while the respondent physicians supported the application.

The court granted the application, clarifying that a terminal illness is not a necessary precondition for a constitutional exemption for physician-assisted death, and that the death would not require coroner notification.

The plaintiff, Gregory Lennox, sued Dr. Andrew Burns for medical negligence following a colostomy reversal surgery that resulted in permanent disability, including femoral nerve damage and bowel dysfunction.

Lennox alleged failure to obtain informed consent, negligent surgical technique (including blunt dissection and failure to abandon the procedure), and negligent post-operative care for C-difficile infections.

The court found that Dr. Burns obtained informed consent, as the risks of not completing the procedure or femoral nerve damage were not material or foreseeable.

The court also found that Dr. Burns met the standard of care in his surgical technique and post-operative management, despite expert disagreement on some points.

While acknowledging the plaintiff's unfortunate outcome and the potential for femoral nerve damage to have been avoided if the surgery was terminated earlier, the court concluded that the plaintiff failed to prove negligence or causation for the majority of the claimed damages.

The action was dismissed.