Linda Wolanski

The plaintiff brought a motion to strike the defendants' jury notice after the trial was delayed due to the suspension of civil jury trials in Toronto during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The plaintiff argued that the delay and uncertainty of a jury trial caused financial prejudice.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that the anticipated eight-month delay to the next scheduled jury sittings did not justify depriving the defendants of their substantive right to a jury trial, especially since they had based their litigation strategy on that right.

The trial was adjourned to the June 2021 civil jury sittings.

The plaintiffs, including two parties under disability represented by the Public Guardian and Trustee, brought a motion for court approval of a $1,000,000 global settlement resolving tort and statutory accident benefit claims arising from five motor vehicle collisions.

The court reviewed the medical evidence, the risks of proceeding to trial, and the proposed allocation of funds, including legal fees.

Finding the settlement to be fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the parties under disability, the court approved the settlement.

The plaintiffs brought a medical malpractice action following the death of a mother from postpartum hemorrhage and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) hours after a caesarean section.

The plaintiffs alleged that the nurses, anaesthesiologist, and obstetricians breached the standard of care by failing to recognize and treat the bleeding earlier.

The court found that while the anaesthesiologist breached the standard of care by delaying notification to the obstetricians of the patient's deteriorating condition, this delay did not cause the patient's death.

The court concluded that even if the decision to operate had been made earlier, the patient would still have developed DIC and the fatal blockage would not have been prevented.

The action was dismissed without costs.