Susanne Raab presented to the Canadian Bar Association at the National Health Law Summit on the topic of the treating physician as an expert witness at trial, addressing issues of procedure, admissibility and bias. This is a national bi-annual conference addressing critical issues in health law.
Firm News
Paul McGivern and Susanne Raab recognized as Best Lawyers® in Canada in Medical Negligence
Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. A listing in Best Lawyers is widely regarded by both clients and legal professionals as a significant honor, conferred on a lawyer by his or her peers. For more than three decades, Best Lawyers lists have earned the respect of the profession, the media, and the public, as the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals anywhere.
Announcing the Janna Epp Bursary
In memory of a beautiful little girl whose life was cut too short, Pacific Medical Law has established a $5,000 bursary to be awarded annually to a child living with cerebral palsy, to assist with that child’s care, therapy and recreation. Please apply at the link below by December 5, 2014.
Susanne Raab Chairs TLABC Medical Legal Seminar, “Proving Physical and Psychiatric Injuries”
On Friday December 1, 2017 Susanne Raab co-chaired this sold out conference which focused on the most significant medical and legal advances in identifying and proving injuries, including brain injuries, chronic pain and psychiatric injuries. Dr. Manraj Heran, interventional and neuroradiologist co-chaired the conference with Susanne and provided a very educational presentation on “How to Think Like a Neuroradiologist”.
Additional topics included the new test for proving mental injury as set out by the Supreme Court of Canada in the Saadati case (Dairn Shane), the forensic psychiatric assessment of indirect nervous shock (Dr. Roy O’Shaughnessy), the neuropsychological evaluation of children with traumatic brain injury (Dr. Chand Taneja), brain technology innovations for functional evaluation and rehabilitation advances (Dr. Ryan D’Arcy), a novel approach to proving psychiatric and physical injury (Anthony A. Vecchio QC), understanding chronic pain in spinal cord injury ( Dr. Michael Negraeff) , how to decide when to sue a treating physician (Paul McGivern ), and the ethical and legal considerations of using treating physicians as witnesses (Kim Jakeman).
Message from the President of the Cerebral Palsy Association of BC: “How can I Help”
On a rainy spring day in 2013, I was sitting in my office, contemplating a particularly moving conversation I had just had with a parent of a child living with cerebral palsy. As a parent of young children myself, this conversation left me feeling both humbled and inspired by the resilience and determination of this parent who was navigating a difficult road for her child. Every day she rose and fought for what she knew her child needed and deserved. What struck me most was that she fought this battle primarily alone, with little support and few who understood her world or the unique challenges faced by her child. This story was by no means unique – I have sat in the living rooms of countless families of children living with cerebral palsy and heard their accounts of tireless uphill battles with no or little support from the community.
That afternoon, I knocked on the door of the office of the Cerebral Palsy Association of British Columbia and I asked, “How can I help?” Thus began my volunteer work with the Cerebral Palsy Association of BC.
Over the past few years I have served on the board of directors of the Cerebral Palsy Association of BC, alongside a dedicated group of volunteers. Together we have brainstormed, strategized, planned and imagined all the ways in which our organization could make a meaningful difference in the lives of people living with cerebral palsy. We have often paused to ask ourselves, “Do we really know what our members need?” In response to this very important question, we created an Advisory Committee of parents, medical professionals, and people living with cerebral palsy to guide and inform us of what is most needed, so that we could focus our limited resources in a way to make the greatest difference. We have learned a great deal from the volunteers on our Advisory Committee, but recognize we must remain in touch with and informed by our membership.
My goal during my term as president is to improve understanding, to build a community of support and resources, and to reduce the feelings of isolation and loneliness that are all too common among individuals living with cerebral palsy, and their families.
In the simplest terms, the Cerebral Palsy Association of BC exists to improve the lives of people living with cerebral palsy. As I proudly assume the role of President of the Cerebral Palsy Association of BC, I ask, “How can I help?”