RECENT SETTLEMENTS AND AWARDS
$4.5 million settlement for an infant injured during delivery
Paul McGivern and Susanne Raab obtained a $4.5 million settlement for a baby who suffered a severe brain injury at birth. The baby has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
In recommending approval of the settlement to the court, the Public Guardian and Trustee noted:
"This was clearly a complex and risky case ... In our opinion, the result in this case could not have been achieved except by counsel with the skill and ability of Mr. McGivern."
$5.5 million settlement for client rendered quadriplegic
Paul McGivern and Susanne Raab, acting as co-counsel with another law firm, obtained a $5.5 million settlement for a client who became a quadriplegic as a result of the failure to diagnose a spinal column fracture following a high impact accident.
$4.4 million settlement for an infant injured during delivery
Paul McGivern obtained a $4.4 million settlement for a baby who suffered a severe brain injury at birth as a result of a nurse's failure to respond to signs that the baby was in distress. The baby has been diagnosed with quadriplegic cerebral palsy.
$2.2 million settlement for paraplegic injury from delay in diagnosing severe infection
Linda Wong and Brenda Osmond obtained a $2.2 million settlement for a client who suffers from multiple injuries including paraplegia from the delay in diagnosis and treatment of a spinal infection. The client suffers from chronic pain and is unable to return to work.
$850,000 settlement for medical negligence leading to chronic pain
Paul McGivern obtained a settlement of $850,000 for a client who was injured by the negligence of a physician. The client was left with chronic disabling pain and was unable to return to work as a result.
$2.75 million settlement for undiagnosed head injury
Paul McGivern obtained a $2.75m settlement for a client who suffered a head injury that was not diagnosed promptly. As a result of the delayed diagnosis the client was left with a debilitating brain injury.
$275,000 settlement for injury during recreational activity
Paul McGivern obtained a $275,000 settlement for a client injured during a recreational activity.
$4.7 million settlement for delayed diagnosis
Paul McGivern obtained a $4.7 million settlement for an infant with severe physical and mental disabilities as a result of the delayed diagnosis.
$900,000 settlement for failure to diagnose
Linda Wong obtained a settlement of $900,000 for a client who suffered a significant physical disability as a result of a failure of treating physicians to diagnose a serious health problem.
$250,000 for wrongful death
Linda Wong obtained a settlement for the family of a client who died because she was unable to obtain treatment.
Kahlon v Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, 2009
Linda Wong and Paul McGivern, working as co-counsel with another law firm, obtained a multi-million dollar judgment for a man left with a catastrophic brain injury. The injury resulted from an infection that was not treated largely because the hospital failed to report abnormal findings on his CT scan.
Fullerton v Delair, 2006
Linda Wong obtained a multi-million dollar judgment for a 6 year old boy who has catastrophic brain damage and multiple disabilities as a result of the negligent management of his mother's labour.
Strachan v Reynolds et al., 2004
Linda Wong obtained a multi-million dollar judgment in this hard-fought trial. The child suffered severe and permanent brain damage as a result of the doctors' and nurses' failure to diagnose a uterine rupture.
NEWS & EVENTS
Susanne Raab to Co-Chair TLABC Seminar
Susanne Raab will be co-chairing a seminar for the Trial Lawyers Association of BC entitled "Persuasion and the Complex Case: Strategies to Simplify the Most Challenging Medical/Legal Cases" on December 7, 2012 in Vancouver, BC.
Paul McGivern Recognized in the 2012 Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory - May, 2012
Congratulations to partner Paul McGivern for his recognition in the 2012 Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory. Paul has once again been selected as a top practitioner in the areas of medical negligence and personal injury. This selection is based on an intensive survey process and a combination of peer review and input from knowledgeable users of legal services. Lexpert is Canada's most comprehensive guide to legal talent in Canada, identifying leading lawyers across Canada in over 60 practice areas.
Western Canadian Medical Malpractice Conference - September, 2011
Linda Wong chaired the 2011 Annual Western Canadian Medical Malpractice Plaintiffs Lawyers Conference that focused on hot topics in medical malpractice in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Featured legal speakers included Brenda Osmond and Paul McGivern from Pacific Medical Law. Dr. Brenda Osmond, formerly the Deputy Registrar of the College of Pharmacists of BC, lectured on recent trends in medication error prevention strategies and pharmacy practice across Western Canada and explored the interplay between pharmacists increasing responsibility for medication therapy and potential malpractice liability. During the interprovincial panel sessions Paul McGivern discussed practical legal strategies to address the clinical judgment defence in malpractice cases. This is the second year that Pacific Medical Law has provided feature speakers for this conference - Paul McGivern and Linda Wong spoke at last year's conference.
Paul McGivern Recognized by The Best Lawyers In Canada 2012 - September, 2011
Paul McGivern continues to be recognized as a leader in medical negligence law, through selection by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in Canada 2012. Paul was included in the inaugural issue in 2007, and has been recognized for his expertise every year since then. Best Lawyers is regarded by both the profession and the public as the definitive guide to legal excellence for more than 25 years. Inclusion in The Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive and rigorous peer-review survey comprising more than 320,000 confidential evaluations by the top lawyers in the country.
Pacific Medical Law Welcomes a New Associate - July 1, 2011
Susanne Raab has joined the firm as an associate lawyer. Susanne obtained her law degree from the University of Victoria and was called to the bar in the year 2000. Susanne's practice focuses on representing individuals and families who have suffered injuries as a result of medical malpractice. Prior to joining Pacific Medical Law, Susanne spent much of her legal career representing physicians in complex medical malpractice actions, with an emphasis on catastrophic infant brain injury cases. Over the course of her career, Susanne has been involved in settling or litigating numerous medical malpractice actions.
Paul McGivern Presented at Causation in Tort II - June 3, 2011
Paul McGivern participated in the Causation and Appellate Advocacy Demonstration, submitting plaintiff's argument to a panel of judges from across Canada. This event, presented by CLE-BC, was attended by plaintiff and defence counsel.
Linda Wong Chairs Panel on Costs of Future Care - May 13, 2011
Linda Wong organized and co-chaired a panel at the Trial Lawyers Association of BC conference. The panel discussed recent developments in awards for costs of future care.
Linda Wong featured in Canadian Lawyer Magazine - Spring 2011
Linda Wong provided readers with her perspective on the pros and cons of practicing medical malpractice law. http://www.canadianlawyermag.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-practising-in-in-montreal-oil-gas-law-in-london-ont-medical-malpractice-law/Page-4.html
Paul McGivern Presented at Wings, Wheels, Water and More: Non-Automobile Injury Claims - March 25, 2011
Paul McGivern participated in a panel discussion of Medical Malpractice Claims - Tips, Trips and Sage Advice at this conference of the Trial Lawyer's Association of BC. The topics discussed included the effective use of pleadings, recent trends in causation, the use of clinical records and documents agreements.
Brenda Osmond Presented at Professional Practice Conference in Toronto - February 2, 2011
Brenda Osmond addressed attendees at the Professional Practice Conference, the largest conference of pharmacists held in Canada. She combined her knowledge of health care, pharmacy practice, and law, to provide attendees with insight into how the courts view medical records, and to provide tips about how to keep accurate and reliable records.
Pacific Medical Law Welcomes a New Associate - December 1, 2010
Brenda Osmond has joined the firm as an associate lawyer. Brenda obtained her law degree from UBC and was called to the bar in 2010. Although new to the practice of law, Brenda is no stranger to advocating for the interests of patients. Brenda has a doctoral degree in clinical pharmacy and was a pharmacist before she became a lawyer. For the last 10 years of her pharmacy career she was Deputy Registrar of the College of Pharmacists of BC. In that role she assisted in developing the standards for safe pharmacy practice and investigated complaints about the practice of pharmacy. Throughout her career Brenda has been a speaker at professional development conferences and a frequent contributor to professional publications
Pacific Medical Law Partners Speak at Edmonton conference - October 2, 2010
Our partners continue to be recognized as leaders in their field, both being asked to speak at a conference in Edmonton Alberta. Linda Wong and Paul McGivern each led separate discussions about current issues in medical malpractice law.
Linda Wong Featured on Television Documentary - September 3, 2010
Linda Wong was interviewed by Amanda Pi of Fairchild TV. Linda spoke briefly about how a medical malpractice trial unfolds; how a judge assesses the case, what you have to prove to win a case, and how important compensation can be for an injured person. Her interview is at 9:30 minutes at:
mms://216.18.70.242/ftvnews/tv_archive/M26/Amanda-PT-1.wmv
Paul McGivern Conducts Mock Cross-Examination at Conference - April 8, 2010
Paul McGivern was a featured speaker at the Cutting Edge Trial Techniques conference of the Trial Lawyer's Association of BC. He conducted a mock cross-examination of an expert witness to demonstrate how to effectively highlight deficiencies in the other party's case.
Linda Wong Chairs Seminar on Health Care Costs Recovery Act - September 15, 2009
Linda Wong organized and chaired a panel for the Trial Lawyer's Association of BC conference discussing the new Health Care Costs Recovery Act which went into effect on April 1, 2009.
