Jessica Laham

The plaintiff brought a medical malpractice action against her rheumatologist, alleging he breached the standard of care by misdiagnosing her with gout, failing to perform a joint aspiration, and prescribing Allopurinol without informed consent, which led to her developing Stevens-Johnson Syndrome.

The court dismissed the action, finding that the defendant met the standard of care of a reasonable community rheumatologist in diagnosing gout clinically and prescribing Allopurinol.

The court also found that informed consent was obtained and that the plaintiff failed to prove causation, as expert evidence established she had a genetic predisposition making the adverse reaction inevitable regardless of the starting dose.

The appellant, Ivanmarino Mazia, appealed his conviction for theft under $5,000, arguing the trial judge erred by failing to grant his Rowbotham application and provide adequate assistance given his visual impairment.

The Superior Court admitted fresh evidence establishing Mazia's legal blindness at the time of trial.

The court found the trial judge erred by not inquiring into Mazia's stated vision problems and by applying an overly stringent "rare and exceptional" test for the Rowbotham application.

The appeal was allowed, the conviction set aside, and a new trial ordered.