While litigation experts hired by a party to a lawsuit must comply with the comprehensive expert report rules set out in Rule 53.03 of the Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure, participant experts such as treating health practitioners and non-party experts such as those hired by a non-party insurer don’t need to comply with the rule in order to provide expert opinion evidence at trial, according to the Ontario Court of Appeal in its pragmatic and much-anticipated decision inWesterhof v. Gee last week.
Author Archives: Admin2
Streamlined litigation
Modern civil litigation lawyers must use a wide array of tools to navigate the spiraling costs and delays of litigation. To this end, lawyers often turn to ADR processes such as arbitration to achieve quick and cost-effective resolutions, rather than accessing the courts.
http://www.lawyersweekly.ca/articles/2353
Quebec auto insurance group launches online tool explaining steps of the claims settlement process
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Black box insurance users trade privacy for lower rates
The small device fits under the dash and transmits real-time information on acceleration, braking, time of day and distance driven, which he can check on a website Monday to Friday.
Medical residents yield to doctors’ orders even when they’re wrong — and patients suffer, study suggests
As a junior resident in anesthesiology, he watched a senior trainee and supervising physician prepare to administer an anesthetic to a new mother suffering a serious blood infection. Dr. Bould says he was certain in his mind the woman could not tolerate the drug at that dose, but said nothing about his concerns.
Untangling depression’s web
Depression can affect our metabolism, cardiovascular system, pancreas, bones, joints, muscles, blood and immune system. In this light, Mental Health International formulated the Invasion of Depression graphic (displayed on this page) to demonstrate how these conditions are interconnected.
http://business.financialpost.com/brain-health/the-great-depression-matrix/#__federated=1
Meeting of the minds
Wilson wrote the foreward to a report released by MHI in 2014 called Breaking Through — Brain Health in a Brain Economy, calling for an international business-science partnership to help accelerate the translation of new brain science into improved clinical treatments for mental illness.
http://business.financialpost.com/brain-health/meeting-of-the-minds-2/
Westerhof v. Gee Estate: A legal analysis of introducing expert evidence at trial
This week the Ontario Court of Appeal released a much awaited decision in the case of Westerhof v. Gee Estate. The appeal raised the question of whether or not the Rules of Civil Procedure allowed only experts engaged by or on behalf of a party to provide opinion evidence for a case; OR whether the Rules ought to be construed more broadly such as allowing ALL witnesses with special expertise to provide opinion evidence.
Plaintiff Fined $25,000 For Not Complying With Document Production Orders
In the recent case (Badreldin v. Swatridge) the Plaintiff was injured in a 2010 collision. The Plaintiff was a physiotherapist and claimed diminished earning capacity. The Defendant obtained Court orders for production of records relating to the Plaintiff’s business losses and these were not wholly complied with. The Defendant asked that the Plaintiff’s action be dismissed but the Court noted this was too harsh of a remedy.
York Region police officer convicted in insurance fraud case
A York Regional Police (YRP) officer has pleaded guilty to a charge of “knowingly making a false or misleading statement or representation to an insurer” under the Insurance Act, the police force revealed on Thursday.