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World Cerebral Palsy Day Initiative – Ideas to Change the World

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Around the world, there are 17 million individuals living with cerebral palsy, a disorder that affects a person’s ability to move and to maintain posture and balance. It is a disability that starts at the beginning of life, and continues for a lifetime. There is no cure.

Today is World Cerebral Palsy Day, a day for us to all come together to shape the future and improve the lives of individuals with cerebral palsy, and their families.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Imagine it – Think of a challenge that affects you or someone you know with cerebral palsy – something that needs inventing, adapting or changing.
  2. Submit it – Create a 60 second video or short written description of your idea and submit it to the World CP Day website at www.worldcpday.org.
  3. Vote for it – Take a minute to check out the ideas submitted by others around the world online. Vote for those ideas that you would like to see become a reality. The most popular ideas will be presented to designers, innovators, engineers and investors.
  4. Spread the Word – tell your friends and family about the World CP Day Initiative.

Last year the winning idea was a solar powered wheelchair. What will it be this year?

How Often do Hospitals Make Mistakes that Harm Patients?

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We get a number of calls in our office from patients (or their family members) who have suffered injuries during their hospital admission which have caused them significant disabilities, or in some cases, death. How often does this occur and what causes these injuries? New reporting requirements in Ontario aim to shed light on this serious issue.

Hospitals in Ontario have been directed to report critical incidents involving medications and intravenous fluids to the Canadian Institute for Health Information National System for Incident Reporting. In issuing the directive, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care aims to minimize and prevent harmful medication incidents. The first annual report, issued in May of 2013, indicated that there were 36 critical incidents reported in that year. These critical incidents contributed to the death of 10 patients and left 26 patients with serious injuries.

What are the primary causes of these injuries to patients during hospitalization? The data reveals that the top medications that contributed to severe harm or deaths included opioids, heparin, norepinephrine and oxytocin. The factors that contributed to opioid overdose included pump or infusion rate issues, confusion over multiple dosage formats and knowledge deficits related to prescribing practices. In contrast, mix-ups involving oxytocin were due to similar looking packaging of IV bags and syringes being present in the obstetric suite. Other top contributing factors were communication, drug product confusions and distractions/frequent interruptions.

The results of this analysis have prompted the development of presentations and publications made available to health-care workers in Ontario. These educational efforts provide recommendations for system safeguards to prevent a recurrence of the problem and try to improve both the quantity and quality of the critical incident reporting.

According to the National Post, only Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec have similar mandates for hospitals to report critical incidents, and Manitoba is the only other province that releases their results publicly.

The fact that only 36 critical incidents were reported over the course of one year may be due to under-reporting in this recently instituted program. It may also reflect the fact that although errors in health care occur from time to time, very few of them meet the criteria of a “critical incident” – that is to say very few result in death, or serious disability, injury or harm.

Read the full report here:  Select

Read the National Post news article here: Select

5 Common Myths about Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

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I began practicing medical malpractice law well over a decade ago, and over the years I have spoken with hundreds of people about potential lawsuits against doctors.

During this time, I have consistently encountered the following misconceptions about medical malpractice:

Myth #1 – Doctors are too powerful to sue. This is one of the most prevalent myths. While it is true that successfully suing a doctor is difficult, it can be done.

Here are the facts. Almost all of the doctors in Canada belong to the Canadian Medical Protective Association (the “CMPA”), a very sophisticated and well-resourced organization. The CMPA’s primary function is the protection of its members’ professional integrity. There are currently 86,000 doctors who are members of the CMPA, and it has financial assets of over $2.5 Billion. If a lawsuit is commenced against one of its members, the CMPA pays for the doctor’s defence costs (i.e. lawyer’s fees, expert’s fees and other expenses) as well as any settlement or judgment that results from a lawsuit.

In order to succeed with a medical malpractice lawsuit, it is critical that you retain lawyers experienced with medical malpractice lawsuits who have the resources and expertise necessary to prove your case. Starting a lawsuit with the hope that the physician will simply settle the claim to make it go away is foolhardy.

Myth #2 – Doctors all stick together. There is some truth to this. Many physicians are simply not prepared to testify against other physicians, especially within certain specialties or within certain communities.

This challenge can be overcome, however, by retaining experienced medical malpractice lawyers who are well respected in the field and have access to credible and objective experts who are prepared to testify against other doctors. Such experts are absolutely essential in order to be successful in a medical malpractice case. This is one of the most valuable resources an experienced medical malpractice lawyer can provide.

Myth #3 – Damages for pain and suffering are in the millions. This is a misconception that arises primarily from cases south of the border. In Canada, the compensation available to an injured plaintiff for pain and suffering, often referred to as “loss of enjoyment of life”, has been significantly limited by the Supreme Court of Canada. In 1978, the Supreme Court of Canada considered this issue in a series of cases, often referred to as the “trilogy”, and held that the maximum amount of money an injured plaintiff could receive for “pain and suffering” was $100,000. That amount has gradually increased over time to keep up with inflation, and is currently at approximately $350,000.

It is important to understand that this limit does not apply to other categories of damages, such as loss of income earning capacity and cost of care. These categories are not limited, and in the cases we prosecute, frequently result in awards in the millions.

Myth #4 – I have nothing to lose by starting a lawsuit. This is simply not true. The CMPA’s primary function is the protection of its members’ professional integrity. It vigorously defends all lawsuits brought against its members.

What this means is that the CMPA will not settle any lawsuit unless the plaintiff can prove (usually through expert evidence) that the doctor was negligent, and that it was the doctor’s negligence that caused the plaintiff’s injuries. This can be a difficult test to meet. The result is that over 60% of all lawsuits brought against doctors across the country (excluding Ontario and Quebec) are unsuccessful. Of those lawsuits that go to trial, 86% are unsuccessful. This has significant financial implications for plaintiffs.

If you start a lawsuit and lose following trial, you will be responsible for both the expenses your lawyer has incurred in prosecuting the case, depending on the terms of your retainer agreement with your lawyer, as well as the defendant physician’s costs and disbursements. This could amount to a significant sum of money.

In order to manage this risk, it is critical that before starting a lawsuit against a doctor, and again at key phases of the lawsuit, you and your lawyer carefully consider the strength of the case in relation to these financial risks.

Myth #5 – I am entitled to substantial compensation if a family member dies as a result of medical malpractice. Unfortunately, the legislation which deals with wrongful death in British Columbia, namely the Family Compensation Act, is outdated, inadequate and in desperate need of reform. I have responded to countless calls from grieving individuals who believe their spouse, parent or child died as a consequence of medical malpractice. Unless the deceased family member provided significant financial support or household/childcare services to the family, the individual is unlikely to receive sufficient compensation to make the costs and risk of a medical malpractice case worthwhile.

New Poll Reveals Misconceptions about Stroke among Canadians

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A report released by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada suggests that Canadians have plenty of misconceptions about stroke, and what it takes to recover from one. The poll conducted by the HSFC found that half of all Canadians have a close family member or a friend who has had a stroke and that many of these people do not realize that it may take weeks or months to recover from one.

Dr. Sean Dukelow, a researcher at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at the University of Calgary, was surprised that one in five Canadians thinks a stroke is always fatal, when in fact only 10 percent of people die from it. Most stroke victims live; however, the recovery may sometimes takes weeks, months or even years.

Similarly, less than two-thirds of Canadians know that most strokes can be prevented. Also, almost one in six believes once a person has recovered from a stroke there is nothing they can do to prevent another one. The fact is up to 80 per cent of premature heart disease and strokes can be prevented by managing risk factors.

The poll also reveals that more than one-third of Canadians believe that the recovery period of a stroke is limited to a few months. The truth is that recovery can last a life time in some cases. Dr. Dukelow points out that a stroke affects more than just the patient, but also their family and friends. “Without supportive family, some of the patients that I see end up in a nursing home or a long-term care setting because they don’t have a family who can support them through the process,” he says.

According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, stroke is the third leading cause of death in Canada. Every ten minutes a Canadian suffers a stroke, and as the population continues to age these numbers are bound to increase. The results of this poll suggest that Canadians need more education and increased awareness about stroke and its effects.

Read the Heart and Stroke Foundation 2013 Report here:

Read the news article here

Cerebral Palsy is all about Incredible Adaptability

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Stephanie Hammerman is a case in point. She became the first certified CrossFit coach with cerebral palsy. In her interview with CNN, she said, “If you would have told me that in a year I would be lifting weights over my head, flipping tires and coaching this sport, I wouldn’t have believed you, but this is my reality. As an adaptive athlete and coach, I see and do things differently than most, but that doesn’t make my desire to be great any weaker. In CrossFit when the term “RX’d” is used it means an athlete has done something as prescribed. My weights and rep scheme may never be RX, but my effort always will be. If this last year has taught me anything, it’s to embrace every challenge that comes your way because you never know when that challenge is going to turn into great opportunity”.

Her story proves that anything is possible when people have the support, motivation and the resources to reach their goals. As a CrossFit athlete who had to leave this sport to recover from injuries, I am inspired by Stephanie’s story and encourage you to watch her video here.

*image via http://www.fitnesshq.com

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