Peter Denton

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 defendant brought a motion seeking leave to compel the plaintiff to attend an independent medical examination and an extension of time to serve the resulting expert report, which would necessitate adjourning the impending trial.

The plaintiff opposed the motion, arguing the request was unjustifiably late and would cause non-compensable prejudice due to statutory deductibles.

The court found the defendant failed to adequately explain the delay in scheduling the assessment and that granting the extension would unfairly prejudice the plaintiff.

The motion for an extension of time and to compel the examination was dismissed.

The plaintiffs in a medical malpractice action brought a motion to compel the defendant physician to answer questions refused at her examination for discovery and to re-attend to answer follow-up questions.

The court held that written answers provided by the defendant to some of the refused questions were complete and did not necessitate re-attendance.

However, the court ordered the defendant to provide written answers to questions regarding post-event changes to her charting and diagnostic practices, finding that evidence of subsequent remedial measures is relevant at the discovery stage.

The defendant was also ordered to answer questions regarding conversations with a colleague about the incident.