Disability in the workplace.
A worker may suffer illness, accident or other condition that prevents continuance of work duties over a period of time. Such scenarios may happen at the workplace or at an extension of the workplace. In recent years, workplace stress itself has been the trigger for serious illness leading to disability claims. An employee who becomes disabled may be eligible for financial compensation if such are included in the benefits package provided by the employer. These payments are usually fulfilled through benefits under an insurance plan. While many disability claims are handled and resolved in a...
read moreHow are health records used in a lawsuit?
Overview If you suffer from an injury or disability, you will likely receive care from one or more health care practitioners. You will probably be aware that a health care practitioner typically makes records each time you see him or her. These records typically document your comments, the health care practitioner’s findings and the health care practitioner’s diagnosis and opinion. These records help both the health care practitioner who makes the records and any other health care practitioner who receives the records to provide appropriate care to you. If you are involved in a lawsuit...
read moreExpert evidence in disability and personal injury lawsuits.
Lawyers often seek the opinions of medical experts in disability and personal injury lawsuits. The purpose of these engagements is generally to present evidence in relation to such important matters as: • the underlying cause of the plaintiff’s injuries; • the nature and extent of the plaintiff’s injuries and corresponding functional limitations, deficits or disability; • any further treatment or rehabilitation initiatives that may need to be undertaken; and • the prognosis for future recovery or symptom improvement. Although opinions on such matters may vary from expert to expert, the...
read moreIs there a duty to take cannabis?
A 2014 judgment of the Supreme Court of British Columbia illustrates just how far the debate has swung on the issue of marijuana as medicine. The judgment of Gelsby v. MacMillan (March 4, 2014, BC Supreme Court) was a routine personal injury case in many respects. The plaintiff, Jessica Glesby was injured in a motor vehicle accident, suffered various injuries, and went to trial on the issue of the “assessment of damages” (how much money would she receive for her injuries). The arguments raised by both parties were for the most part not out of the ordinary, with the defendant’s arguing that...
read moreHow much notice and severance must be given?
Are the notice and severance provisions in the Employment Standards Act or Canada Labour Code all that an employer is required to give an employee when firing them without cause? Not necessarily. The Employment Standards Act and the Canada Labour Code establish the minimum notice or severance in lieu of notice that an employer is obliged to provide. However, the common law (which is law developed by judges in decisions of courts) has established that employees are entitled to “reasonable notice” of termination, which can be much more than what is required by statute....
read more
