Liability in Medical Mal
There are so many instances I can recall of waiting in a hospital for a nurse only to be left waiting hours and sometimes even days! The case of Milne v. St. Joseph’s Health Centre, [2009] O.J. No. 4004 was discussed in the Lawyers Weekly.
In Milne both a nurse and a resident doctor were found liable for a pregnant patient who had suffered an abruption that caused her baby to suffer catastrophic brain damage.
The Judge was convinced that had the delay in delivery caused by the nurse and resident not occurred the baby would have been born normal.
The Lawyers Weekly reported the following:
The lesson from Milne is that medical team members must clearly communicate their impressions and their plans of action. Failure to do so undermines the “team” approach essential to patient care. In the setting of a medical emergency, assumptions can have tragic consequences for patients and will offer little defence at trial to nurses and doctors who make them.
This is a significant win for the Plaintiff. Generally in medical malpractice suits the Defendants being doctors, hospitals and nurses tend to take an aggressive approach to intimidate Plaintiff’s. Also, the costs of a medical malpractice suit are significantly more expensive.
Misleading or False Advertising
Many food, drug and cosmetic companies are now getting in trouble for misleading or false advertising practices regarding their product.
For example, I reported on the recent legal battles that Snapple was involved in here. It’s reported here that Kellogg has gotten into trouble in San Francisco for the claim that their cereal Cocoa Krispies, "now helps support your child's immunity." The yogurt company Dannon recently paid out $35 million for its misleading advertising claims about the health benefits of its yogurt.
In Canada, the Competition Bureau authorized by the Competition Act is responsible for ensuring companies are not misleading the public and is permitted to take criminal or civil action.
“Under the criminal regime, the general provision prohibits all materially false or misleading representations made knowingly or recklessly. Under the civil regime, the general provision prohibits all materially false or misleading representations.”
All the examples I have cited above are American. However, the products are also distributed in Canada. Why didn’t the Competition Bureau take any action against Dannon, Snapple or Kellogg as independent lawyers have in the United States?
Organic Products
Organic Logo
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency states:
As of June 30, 2009, the Organic Products Regulations require mandatory certification to the revised National Organic Standard for agricultural products represented as organic in international and inter-provincial trade, or that bear the federal organic agricultural product legend (or federal logo).
The following legislation govern organic products:
Canada Agricultural Products Act
Organic Products Regulations, 2009
Insurance Based On Your Credit Score
Last Saturday’s Toronto Star reported on the practice of insurers assessing people’s insurance based on their credit score.
In turbulent times such as this, imagine losing your job and then finding out you might have to pay way more money for your insurance or not even be eligible for insurance.
BPA Even In Cash-Register Receipts
Science News Magazine of the Society for Science & the Public reported that BPA has even been found in carbonless copy papers such as cash-register and credit-card receipts.
The average cash register receipt that's out there and uses the BPA technology will have 60 to 100 milligrams of free BPA.” By free, he explains, it’s not bound into a polymer, like the BPA in polycarbonatesR It’s just the individual molecules loose and ready for uptake.
Click here for article.
Halloween Safety
Halloween
Halloween is a fun time of year for everyone especially those with children. However, people should be aware of the numerous dangers posed by unsafe practices.
Click here for things to remember this Halloween.
Cell Phone Use Linked To Brain Tumors
Back in September I blogged about this. The Daily Express, a UK paper reported the following:
LONG-term mobile phone users could face a higher risk of developing cancer in later life, according to a decade-long study.
The report, to be published later this year, has reportedly found that heavy mobile use is linked to brain tumours.
The survey of 12,800 people in 13 countries has been overseen by the World Health Organisation.
Chemicals Migrating Out Of Food Packaging
Here’s another article from the Globe and Mail discussing BPA in food packaging. The article discusses a recent study published in the journal Science of the Total Environment. The study looked at 140 scientific reports on the subject of chemicals migrating out of packaging that is used in food and drink.
The Globe reported:
In many of these reports, researchers detected contaminants leaking from packaging. These include: perfluorinated compounds, used to line containers to make them grease and water resistant but are under investigation as cancer-causing agents; triclosan, an anti-bacterial compound that has leached into flour and rice from containers, and the biocide ortho-phenylphenol, which has been detected in beer.
Even more alarming is Health Canada’s official position. The Globe reported:
Health Canada, in response to questions from The Globe and Mail, said that because these compounds aren't deliberately placed in food, they don't come under disclosure rules.
“Health Canada does not require the labelling of trace additives used in food packaging materials because these chemicals are not intentionally added to foods and do not fall under the definition of food additives, which require mandatory labelling,” the agency said.
Critics i.e., the companies argue that the levels pose no risk because they are so small. However, this position is not entirely accurate given what anti-BPA activists have been saying.
Acquitted Of Murder
Kyle Unger, was acquitted of murder in Manitoba a few days ago. No sooner, than he was out on the steps, the lawyer who acted for him has suggested a possible civil action against the government. He stated there were numerous charter violations and the authorities were negligent in their investigation.
Unger will join the ranks of a handful of other people who were imprisoned for crimes they didn’t commit and successfully sued. A Toronto radio station quoted a Manitoba official as stating they will not provide any financial compensation for Unger. It will be interesting to see if that position will be maintained when the civil suit starts.
In 2007 the Supreme Court of Canada discussed the issue of suing police authorities for negligent investigations in the case of Hill v. Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Police Services Board, 2007 SCC 41, [2007] 3 S.C.R. 129.
In that case the Plaintiff was charged with robbing a bank and spent 20 months in jail only to be acquitted later. He sued the Hamilton-Wentworth Police in a civil proceeding. The Supreme Court held:
The police are not immune from liability under the law of negligence and the tort of negligent investigation exists in Canada. Police officers owe a duty of care to suspects. Their conduct during an investigation should be measured against the standard of how a reasonable officer in like circumstances would have acted. Police officers may be accountable for harm resulting to a suspect if they fail to meet this standard.
Despite this the Plaintiff was not successful. The court stated:
In this case, the police officers’ conduct, considered in light of police practices at the time, meets the standard of a reasonable officer in similar circumstances and H’s claim in negligence is not made out.
It seems highly likely that a jury would find in Unger’s favour regardless.
Recall On Classic Canadian Wild Sockeye Lox Trim
OTTAWA, October 21, 2009 - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Classic Smokehouse (2003) Inc. are warning the public not to consume Classic Canadian Wild Sockeye Trims because the product may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
The affected product, Classic Canadian Wild Sockeye Lox Trim, was sold in 454g vacuum packages bearing UPC 3000550008256 and PACKED ON dates from MA 02 (May 2, 2009) to JL 28 (July 28, 2009) inclusive.
Click here for full story.