Dr. MacGregor

This application sought judicial approval for a $1.6 million settlement of a minor's accident benefits claim following a traumatic brain injury.

The court approved the settlement quantum but expressed concerns regarding the proposed structured settlement's adequacy for the minor's future needs, requesting a comprehensive treatment plan.

Additionally, the court reduced the applicant's counsel's requested legal fees from $240,000 to $150,000 plus HST, emphasizing the mandatory disclosure of dockets, disbursements, and retainer agreements in Rule 7.08 applications, particularly when the retainer is not a contingency agreement.

The appellant appealed his conviction for sexual assault and the 30-month sentence.

The conviction appeal was based on the trial judge's alleged uneven scrutiny of evidence.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the conviction appeal, finding no error in the trial judge's assessment of credibility and reliability, despite a minor misapprehension regarding the planning of the offence.

The sentence appeal was allowed, and the sentence was reduced to two years less a day, as the trial judge erred in finding an aggravating factor (methodical planning) that was not proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

The court also considered the appellant's cognitive deficits and the appropriate sentencing range for similar offences.

At a case management conference, the plaintiff sought an extension of time to serve expert reports because a pediatric neurologist required an MRI to finalize her opinion, and the MRI was delayed until December 2019.

The court granted the request and amended the timetable for the service of expert reports, setting new deadlines for the plaintiff's and defendants' reports.

This endorsement addresses case management issues in a long-standing action arising from a farm visit in 2005, particularly concerning the minor plaintiff Samuel Simpson who suffered significant cognitive and physical issues.

The court convened a case conference to establish a timetable for the delivery of expert reports, emphasizing the unacceptable delays in the case.

The judge ordered expedited efforts to obtain an MRI for the minor plaintiff and set specific deadlines for the service of expert reports on damages and liability for all plaintiffs and the defence.

The court also raised concerns about the minor plaintiff's representation after he turns 18 and directed counsel to make inquiries regarding a future litigation guardian.

The plaintiffs brought a motion under Rule 7 for approval of a $6,625,000 settlement in a medical negligence action arising from severe birth injuries to the minor plaintiff.

The court approved the overall settlement amount but found the solicitor's proposed contingency fee of over $1.5 million to be unreasonable given the time expended and the results achieved.

The court reduced the legal fees to $1,000,000 and also reduced the proposed allocation of funds to the parents' Family Law Act claims to ensure the minor plaintiff received adequate funds for his lifelong care needs.

The plaintiffs brought a medical negligence action against the defendant obstetrician following the birth of a child who suffered a catastrophic brain injury resulting in severe cerebral palsy.

The injury was caused by an occult cord prolapse during delivery.

The plaintiffs alleged the defendant failed to recognize risk factors, failed to obtain informed consent, and negligently proceeded with a vacuum-assisted delivery in the delivery room rather than the operating room.

The court dismissed the action, finding that the defendant met the standard of care in his assessment of risk factors, obtained valid consent, and appropriately exercised his clinical judgment in proceeding with the vacuum in response to a non-reassuring fetal heart rate.

Furthermore, the court found that the cord prolapse and resulting injury would have occurred regardless of the defendant's interventions.

The applicant insurer sought judicial review of a Director's Delegate decision upholding an arbitrator's award for private school tuition and a special award for unreasonably withholding benefits under the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule.

The Divisional Court found the Delegate's broad interpretation of 'incurred' and 'undertaken' under s. 15 of SABS was reasonable.

The court also upheld the finding that the insurer unreasonably denied benefits by relying on flawed expert reports and ignoring the insured's future needs.

The court fixed the quantum of the special award at $20,000.

The defendants brought a motion seeking an order requiring the plaintiff to attend a further independent medical examination by a physiatrist and permitting the resulting expert report to be served after the pre-trial conference.

The plaintiff opposed the request on the basis that it constituted a second medical examination and argued the defendants had not established its necessity.

The court held that the plaintiff’s physiatrist report introduced issues concerning mood, anxiety, and cognitive symptoms that were outside the expertise of the defendants’ orthopaedic surgeon who had previously examined the plaintiff.

Given the differing medical specialties and the need to respond to new issues raised in the plaintiff’s expert evidence, the court exercised its discretion under the Rules of Civil Procedure to order the additional examination.

The plaintiff was ordered to attend the defendants’ physiatrist examination and the expert report was permitted to be served after the pre-trial.

The respondents sued the appellant hospital and several doctors for medical malpractice following the birth of their daughter, who suffered severe brain damage due to asphyxia during labour.

The trial judge dismissed the claims against the doctors but found the hospital vicariously liable for its nurses' failure to properly monitor the fetal heart rate between 6:30 and 7:00 p.m.

The trial judge inferred that proper monitoring would have detected the asphyxia, leading to an expedited delivery that would have spared the child's injuries.

The Court of Appeal allowed the hospital's appeal and ordered a new trial, finding that the trial judge misapplied the law of causation by using a 'robust and pragmatic approach' to infer causation without reviewing and making necessary findings on conflicting expert evidence regarding whether the earlier period of asphyxia was actually detectable by intermittent auscultation.