Halifax Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

May 29th, 2013

Supreme Court of Canada Upholds Judge’s “Copycat” Decision (In Part): Cojocaru v. British Columbia Women’s Hospital and Health Centre

Last week, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) issued a decision in a complicated medical malpractice case that raised the issue of when it is appropriate for judges to incorporate reasons taken from the briefs of one of the parties.

Background

In Cojocaru v. British Columbia Women’s Hospital and Health Centre the mother, Monica Cojocaru had previously given birth by C-section. On the recommendation of her obstetrician, Dr. Yue, Ms. Cojocaru agreed to delivery of her baby, Eric Cojocaru, by “vaginal birth after Cesarean section”, otherwise known as VBAC.

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May 24th, 2013

Appeal Court Upholds Jury Decision in Med Mal Trial: Goodwin v Olupona

by John McKiggan

Judge or Jury?

In most provinces in Canada, it is possible to have a civil case tried by judge alone or by judge and jury. I discussed this recently in an article on my Halifax Personal Injury Lawyer Blog, Do I have a right to a jury trial in personal injury claims?

The Nova Scotia Supreme Court recently stated in Anderson v. Cyr, a claim arising out of a motor vehicle accident:

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May 17th, 2013

Medical malpractice litigation helps improve patient care

by John McKiggan

I read with interest this article in the New York times written by Joanna Schwartz, a professor of law at the University of California, Los Angeles.

One of the (false) arguments trotted out by oppontents of medical malpractice litigation is that it prevents disclosure because doctors and hospitals take a “circle the wagons” approach to litigation that inhibits sharing of information that could improve patient safety.

However, a study done by Ms. Schwartz showed just the opposite:

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May 10th, 2013

Doctors negligent, but family loses medical malpractice claim: Mangal v. William Osler Health Centre

by John McKiggan

This recent decision from the Ontario Supreme Court highlights the difficulties faced by families who want to pursue a medical malpractice claim for the loss of a loved one.

Sharon Mangal was admitted to the William Olser Hospital on February 16, 2004 to give birth to her second child through caesarean section. Although she ultimately gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Sharon did not survive the procedure.

Sudesh Mangal, Sharon’s husband, along with Vincent and Sarina Mangal, her children, sued the hospital and the doctors alleging their negligence caused Sharon’s death.

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April 29th, 2013

Multi-million dollar award to child who suffered birth injury: Court examines compensation for “pain and suffering”

by John McKiggan

Child Claims Millions Due to Birth Injury

An Alberta court recently decided a case involving a child who was permanently injured during her birth. The case A.T.-B. v. Mah contained an interesting analysis of a variety of legal issues that typically arise in medical malpractice claims.

I thought the case was worth writing about because of the judge’s views regarding the plaintiff’s claim for compensation for “pain and suffering.”

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April 19th, 2013

Is it possible to reverse infant brain injury caused by ischemia?

by John McKiggan

Recent findings out of the Oregon Health and Science University questions the existing understanding that decreased blood flow to a premature fetus’ brain necessarily kills its brain cells.

The Doctors at the University and its attached Children’s hospital have discovered that low blood flow to the developing brain does not necessarily result in permanent loss of brain cells, but rather that it prevents the cells’ abilities to mature. The implications for medical malpractice and birth injury layers is that it may be possible to reverse, or at least mitigate the damage caused by lack of oxygen.

Dr. Stephen Back, professor of pediatrics and neurology at the Oregon University is quoted as saying that the new findings mean:
“…we can focus greater attention on developing the right interventions, at the right time early in development, to promote neurons to more fully mature and reduce the often serious impact of preterm birth. We now have a much more hopeful scenario.”
Approximately 8-percent of births in Canada are pre-term births. There are a number of added risks when a child is born even a few weeks early. One of the major risks is hypoxia or ischemia.

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April 10th, 2013

Canadian Hospital Ratings: Halifax hospitals rank well

by John McKiggan

CBC-TV’s The Fifth Estate is spearheading an initiative to rate and rank Canadian hospitals.

As a medical malpractice lawyer I applaud any effort that makes health care in Canada more transparent. Peter Drucker is famous for saying: “What gets measured gets managed”. So I have to think that using public data to educate the public about hospital performance and asking the public for feedback about hospitals can’t help but have a positive influence in the care that patients receive.

The CBC collected data from the Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI) and ranked the hospitals using certain criteria.

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April 5th, 2013

Hospital Medication Errors in Canada: Are patients safer in Canada?

by John McKiggan

Pat Malone, in my opinion, is one of the most capable medical malpractice lawyers in the United States. That is why I frequently read his D.C. medical malpractice blog.

I am currently representing the family of a young man who died because he received the wrong medication during his treatment in hospital. So an article Pat recently wrote on Hospital Medication Errors caught my attention.

Medication errors common

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April 4th, 2013

Supreme Court of Canada clarifies law for malpractice victims: Ediger v Johnston

by John McKiggan

The Supreme Court of Canada released an important decision for medical malpractice plaintiffs today.

Summary

In Ediger v. Johnston, the plaintiff “C” suffered from brain damage caused during her birth. C now lives with spastic quadriplegia and cerebral palsy. She is tube-fed, confined to a wheel chair and is completely dependent on others for all of her daily needs. She has a significantly reduced life expectancy of 38 years.

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April 4th, 2013

Health Care Costs: Canada vs. United States

by John McKiggan

Recently my wife and I took our family to Florida for Spring break. My son Liam made friends with Richard, from Texas. Liz and I had several interesting discussions with Richards parents.

One of the topics we discussed were the differences between the Canadian and American health care systems.

I hear complaints about the wait times of sick patients. Our American friends couldn’t comprehend that patients in Canada might have to wait months, or even years for treatment.

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