Ryan Marinacci

This is an appeal from a medical negligence action.

The appellants, the spouse and sons of the deceased, Brian Willick, sued Dr. Willard (emergency surgeon) and Dr. Csanadi (family doctor) for alleged negligence in treating Mr. Willick after a fall, which they claimed led to his death from a ruptured splenic hematoma.

The trial judge dismissed the action, finding that the doctors met the standard of care and that there was no detectable splenic injury attributable to the initial fall.

The appellants challenged the trial judge's application of causation, sufficiency of reasons on standard of care, and credibility assessments.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, affirming the trial judge's findings that the respondent doctors met their respective standards of care, deferring to the trial judge's credibility findings, and concluding that the causation analysis was not flawed given the absence of a breach of duty.

The court also noted that the trial judge's reasons, while terse, were adequate for appellate review.

The plaintiffs in two medical negligence actions appealed a decision dismissing their motions to compel production of documents and answers to discovery questions related to hospital quality of care reviews.

The Associate Justice had found the information irrelevant and protected by common law quality assurance privilege.

On appeal, the court found the documents and questions to be relevant but upheld the Associate Justice's conclusion that a common law evidentiary privilege (Wigmore test) applied to the quality assurance communications, and that the Quality of Care Information Protection Act, 2016 (QCIPA) did not abrogate this common law privilege.

The appeals were dismissed.

The TEC defendants brought a motion to admit evidence from the criminal trial of Christopher Husbands (who committed a mass shooting at the Eaton Centre) into the upcoming civil trial, and to strike the plaintiffs' jury notices.

The defendants argued the evidence was necessary to establish Husbands' mindset and the spontaneity of his actions.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that Husbands' specific mindset and reasons for the shooting were not relevant to the core issue of whether the defendants breached their duty of care regarding security under the Occupiers' Liability Act.

As the criminal evidence was not admitted, the court also declined to strike the jury notices, finding that a jury is capable of handling the anticipated expert evidence on security standards.

The plaintiffs brought a medical negligence action following the death of their family member from a delayed splenic rupture two weeks after a fall.

The deceased had been treated by the defendant surgeon at the hospital and subsequently cleared to return to work by the defendant family doctor.

The court found that neither doctor breached the standard of care, as objective evidence at the time did not indicate a splenic injury.

The court also concluded that the plaintiffs failed to prove causation, finding it likely that an intervening trauma caused the fatal rupture.

The action was dismissed.

The plaintiffs in two medical negligence actions brought refusals motions seeking production of information and documents from hospital case reviews and morbidity and mortality rounds.

The defendants argued the information was irrelevant and protected by common law quality assurance privilege.

The court dismissed the motions, finding the information irrelevant as it involved hindsight and potential remedial measures.

Furthermore, the court held that the Quality of Care Information Protection Act, 2004 did not abrogate common law privilege, and the communications satisfied the Wigmore criteria for protection.

The defendant brought a motion to compel answers to undertakings and refusals regarding the plaintiff's expert report and social media accounts following a motor vehicle accident.

The court dismissed the request for the expert's foundational material and drafts, finding that the disclosure obligation under Rule 53.03(2.1) is not triggered until the plaintiff elects to call the expert at trial.

The court also dismissed the request for social media production, holding that the defendant failed to provide an evidentiary basis establishing that the private accounts contained relevant information.

The plaintiff was awarded costs of the motion.