A joint submission on penalty is an agreement between a regulatory College and the member it has prosecuted, presented together to the discipline tribunal, recommending a particular penalty in exchange for an admission. Joint submissions resolve a large share of discipline matters efficiently and provide certainty to both sides.
Discipline tribunals give joint submissions substantial deference and will generally accept them unless doing so would be contrary to the public interest or would bring the administration of the regulatory system into disrepute, a high threshold that reflects the reasoning of the Supreme Court of Canada in the criminal sentencing context in R v Anthony-Cook, 2016 SCC 43. Because of this deference, the negotiated outcome usually stands, which is why understanding how joint submissions are crafted and assessed is important to understanding discipline results.
Posts tagged Joint Submission analyze Ontario discipline decisions resolved by a joint submission on penalty, including the conduct admitted and the penalty accepted.
Hamilton Spectator coverage of Dr. Stefan Konasiewicz, whose six-month suspension could end in August. Paul Cahill comments on why a patient death led the discipline tribunal to remediation rather than revocation, and where a College proceeding ends and a civil claim begins.
A family physician was suspended for three months after failing to complete a patient’s insurance forms, release another patient’s records to their lawyer, and cooperate with the College’s investigation. A look at why unreturned records are treated as misconduct, and what discipline does and does not do for an injured patient.
An emergency physician was struck off after billing OHIP $125,353 for services he never rendered, including critical care and cardioversions with no record they ever happened, and then refusing to cooperate with the College’s investigation. A look at why records integrity and the duty to cooperate sit at the centre of physician accountability.
A neurosurgeon practising pain medicine was suspended for six months after the tribunal found his chronic pain care fell below the standard of practice, his treatment of a patient who died after nerve blocks was deficient, and he breached a College order restricting his injections. A look at why a patient death led to remediation rather than revocation, and where the discipline process ends and a civil claim begins.
Ontario discipline tribunal imposes suspension on fertility physician based on Quebec findings, including federal Assisted Human Reproduction Act breaches.
OPSDT accepts joint submission for permanent resignation after physician surreptitiously drugged a patient/employee with Rohypnol and Lorazepam, then self-administered to evade detection.
The OPSDT imposed a two-month suspension and a reprimand on a physician for unprofessional COVID-19 commentary, calibrated to the lower end of the discipline spectrum.
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