Pacific Medical Law

A founding member of BILA

Law, Justice And Compassion | Call Today

1-604-685-2361

Call
Contact
Blog

Archives for June 2021

June is Brain Injury Awareness Month

By

Brain injuries can happen for a multitude of reasons such as strokes, car accidents, sports or other health-related situations. Each year in Canada, more than 20,000 people are hospitalized for traumatic brain injuries, and about 6,500 people in British Columbia suffer strokes each year. Many brain injuries are not visible, but they can have a serious effect on an individual’s ability to live a healthy life. Although living with a brain injury brings monumental challenges, the month of June is designated to bring awareness to the effects and prevalence of brain injuries as well as the support available to people who may need it.

The goal of the British Columbia Brain injury Association (BCBIA) is to improve the lives of people living with an acquired brain injury as well as to help educate people without an injury as how best to support brain injury survivors. BCBIA has partnered with many foundations all over BC, so finding resources close to you is an easier process.

The Stroke Recovery Association of British Columbia (SRABC) focusses specifically on supporting people who have had a stroke and they offer programs and resources for people throughout the province. SRABC has continued to operate throughout the Covid-19 pandemic by moving many of its programs online, with plans to move back to in-person programs eventually. In addition to programs to improve mobility and language recovery following a stroke, SRABC offers social support and strives to empower survivors to live fulfilling lives post-stroke.  

Another valuable resource is March of Dimes Canada’s Brain Injury Services operating out of BC, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario. March of Dimes is a non-profit organization whose aim is to help individuals “regain their purpose and become as independent as possible.”[1] The organization’s Brain Injury Services provides rehabilitation and social support services tailored to the needs of the individual and include physical rehabilitation, community outreach services that tackle task specific activities of daily living, and adult day programs that help address the social, cognitive, physical and emotional skills that may have been affected by a brain injury.

Recovering from a brain injury can be a lengthy and slow process but it doesn’t need to happen alone. The resources mentioned above are only some of the services available in BC as well as the rest of Canada. We can all do our part and become more informed about supporting those who have experienced a brain injury.

If you or a loved one has suffered a brain injury which you believe may be due to medical negligence, contact Pacific Medical Law. We have extensive experience in brain injury cases and are committed to helping those who have suffered these types of injury maximize their recovery.

[1] https://www.marchofdimes.ca/en-ca/programs/abi

ICORD – Advancing Research in Spinal Cord Injuries

By

Did you know that British Columbia has a world leading research centre focussing on spinal cord injuries?   ICORD, the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, is located in the Blusson Spinal Cord Centre at Vancouver General Hospital. ICORD’s mission is to conduct research and training to promote prevention, functional recovery, and improved quality of life after spinal cord injury (SCI).

You Can Participate in Research

People with spinal cord injuries are invited to participate in the many research projects underway through ICORD.  Some of the studies involve physical activity. For example one study is looking at the effect of following international exercise guidelines for six months. Other studies involve medical treatments or procedures, like the study investigating the impact of intermittent catheterization on the health of people with SCI, specifically related to urinary tract infections and episodes of autonomic dysreflexia. A lot of the research done through ICORD is survey-based, so you don’t even have to be in the Lower Mainland to participate. Researchers are looking for input on a variety of issues from both people with spinal cord injuries as well as from family caregivers.

Check out the ICORD website through the link below to find out what studies are underway, and which ones you might be able to participate in.  Each study includes a description that lets you know the goals of the study and who is eligible to participate. Why should you get involved in research? By contributing to research, you can help make the world a better place for everybody with a spinal cord injury.  But don’t take our word for it.  Five people who have participated in ICORD research studies were interviewed about their experiences. Most of these people have participated in multiple studies, in some cases so many that they can’t remember them all. You can view that video on the ICORD website, or through the link below.

Keep Informed

Through the ICORD website you can keep up with the latest research and developments about spinal cord injuries. You can subscribe to the ICORDian, the quarterly community newsletter that highlights topics of interest to those with SCI and their loved ones.

In addition to the newsletter, the ICORD Resource Centre publishes easy-to-understand summaries of ICORD scientific papers on the SCInfo blog.  This blog translates scientific literature on various SCI related topics into easy-to-understand summaries for those of us without a science background. Each summary captures the main ideas from research articles published by investigators at ICORD or elsewhere.

Contact us

At Pacific Medical Law, we are committed to helping those who have suffered life-altering injuries. If you or a loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury or other injury that may have been caused or worsened by medical negligence, please contact us to discuss your concerns. We will provide you with our opinion on your legal rights and options, for no charge.

ICORD Links:

Listen to study participants: https://youtu.be/T5XB9ysI4cI

Find a study:  Participate in a Study | ICORD

Subscribe to the newsletter: Newsletters | ICORD

Keep up-to-date with the SCInfo blog:  SCInfo

Expert Evidence – The New Normal

By

The Verdict – Issue 169 / Summer 2021

The Verdict issue 169

This is the seventh article in our 8-part series on medical malpractice litigation published in the Verdict law journal. In this article Paul McGivern reviews how the use of experts at trial has evolved over the years, and discusses recent developments in the law.

  • The Doctor-Patient Relationship and Duty of Care(Verdict Issue 163 – Winter 2019)
  • Consent (the Verdict Issue 164 – Spring 2020)
  • Standard of Care (the Verdict Issue 165 – Summer 2020)
  • Defences to a Claim of a Breach of the Standard of Care (the Verdict Issue 166 – Fall 2020)
  • Causation – Basic Principles (the Verdict Issue 167 – Winter 2020)
  • Causation – Application (the Verdict Issue 168 – Spring 2021)
  • Expert Evidence
  • Disclosure of Errors

In previous articles, we outlined the essential criteria in a medical negligence action including the requirements to prove a duty of care owed by the defendant to the patient, a breach of the standard of care on the part of the defendant and a causal link between the breach of the standard of care and the plaintiff’s injuries and the basic rules for establishing and applying causation. In this article, we will highlight both common law and statutory rules relating to the admissibility of expert evidence and identify issues counsel need to deal with in leading expert evidence at trial.

It is hard to remember a time when expert evidence was not an integral part of almost every case. Over the decades counsel have found that experts were an important part of proving our cases, indeed, an essential part in most cases. The last thing any lawyer wanted to see was a judgment dismissing our case on the basis that no expert evidence was led to prove a critical aspect of our case. Expert evidence was persuasive and compelling, all the more so when the expert was willing to become part of “the team”, advocating on behalf of our clients. The use of expert evidence became ubiquitous. The judiciary largely went along with this, probably to avoid the risk of a new trial if the evidence was rejected (see, for example, Morrison v Hicks (1991) 80 DLR (4th) 659 (BCCA) where the court ordered a new trial after the trial judge refused to allow further evidence on a point that had already been canvassed in other evidence at trial).

This led to a number of abuses, most particularly the phenomenon of the “expert as advocate”.

Our courts have struggled to reign in this problem with limited success. Starting in 2010, the legislature amended the Rules to strengthen the requirements for the admissibility of expert evidence. In 2014 and again in 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada weighed in to address the issue in judgements which have given the courts new impetus to control the type and manner of expert evidence and to reject evidence which does not meet appropriate criteria.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight both common law and statutory rules relating to the admissibility of expert evidence and to deal with some of the more prominent issues counsel need to deal with in assessing whether and how to lead expert evidence.

Stroke and Depression – What Patients and Caregivers Should Know

By

Photo by Kristina Tripkovic on Unsplash

A stroke is a medical condition which occurs when blood stops flowing to part of the brain, damaging brain cells. The effects of stroke depend on the part of brain that was damaged and the amount of damage done. If identified and treated promptly, a stroke can often have only mild consequences. However, people who have debilitating strokes can experience physical, cognitive and speech deficits.

Many patients who have suffered a stroke experience post stroke depression, or PSD, which affects about 1/3 of stroke survivors and can occur any time following a stroke. People with PSD are at higher risk for suboptimal recovery, recurrent strokes, poor quality of life, and mortality. PSD also may make the rehabilitation process more difficult for survivors to do the hard work that is required.

PSD is likely caused by a combination of biological and psychosocial factors, but the pathophysiology is complex. Some studies have found that PSD may have an underlying biological cause, with proposed biological factors including lesion location, genetic susceptibility, and inflammation. Other studies have revealed an association between PSD and physical and cognitive deficits, suggesting that PSD may be a psychological reaction to these deficits. More research is needed to better understand the cause of PSD with an aim to develop targeted interventions for prevention and treatment.

Emotional signs of PSD can include:

  • Feeling sad, anxious, nervous, guilty, irritable, or hopeless
  • No longer being interested in things you used to enjoy
  • Difficulty focussing, remembering, or making decisions
  • Constant thoughts of death

Physical signs of PSD can include:

  • Changes in sleep pattern (sleeping less or sleeping more than normal)
  • Changes in appetite
  • Weight gain or loss
  • Feeling tired, loss of energy
  • Restlessness
  • Persistent headaches
  • Chronic pain
  • Digestive problems (stomach aches, nausea, constipation, diarrhea)

You should contact your doctor if you have any of these symptoms for more than two weeks so that you can get treatment. Treatment can involve therapy by speaking to a trained mental health professional, taking medication, or both.

As difficult as it may be, sharing your feelings is a step toward meeting your recovery goals. This can include speaking to family, friends, or other stroke survivors or members of your healthcare team. You may also wish to join or start a support group. However, if any of your feelings become overwhelming, talk with your doctor right away.

If you or a loved one has suffered a stroke which you believe may be due to medical negligence, contact Pacific Medical Law. We have extensive experience in stroke cases and are committed to helping those who have suffered a stroke or other brain injury maximize their recovery.

How Can We Help You?

Contact Us