Liability Considerations in Surgical “Never Events” or Recognized Complication Cases
How surgical negligence claims succeed or fail. A 2026 OTLA Spring Conference paper on never events and recognized complication cases.
May 8, 2026
Articles Tagged
Trial Preparation
Trial preparation encompasses the work that turns a pleaded case into a case that can be proven in court. In medical malpractice litigation that work is unusually demanding: assembling and organizing voluminous clinical records, retaining and instructing experts on standard of care and causation, preparing the client and witnesses, building examination outlines, and developing a coherent theory of the case that the trier of fact can follow.
Because these cases are expert-driven and document-heavy, the quality of preparation frequently determines the outcome. Effective preparation aligns the expert evidence with the pleaded allegations, anticipates the defence theory, and reduces complex medicine to a clear narrative for a judge or jury. Many of the posts under this tag draw practical lessons from how cases have succeeded or failed at trial.
Posts tagged Trial Preparation analyze the preparation of medical malpractice cases for trial and the practical lessons that emerge from reported decisions.
Defining a Winning Business Strategy for Your PI Firm
How plaintiff PI firms build long-term strategy and growth. From the 2026 LIF webinar Defining a Winning Business Strategy for Your PI Firm.
March 25, 2026
The Business of PI: Boosting Success Through Strategy and Partnerships
How plaintiff-side PI practice works as a business: case screening, partnerships, and resourcing. From a 2024 Legal Innovation Forum panel.
October 3, 2024
Cross-Examining the Defence Expert at the OBA Anatomy of a Trial
How to cross-examine the defence expert and advance your case theory. From the 2024 OBA Anatomy of a Trial continuing professional development program.
June 13, 2024
Causation in Claims of “Systemic” Medical Negligence: Levac v James
Composite card pairing the Medico-Legal Society of Toronto crest with the title Causation in Systemic Medical Negligence, on Paul Cahill’s navy brand panel.
May 2, 2024
From Start to Finish: How to Ensure Your Expert is Permitted to Testify at Trial
Paul Cahill’s Winter 2023/2024 Litigator article on finding the right expert, navigating Westerhof and the Mohan/White Burgess framework, and surviving defence challenges to expert evidence at trial.
January 15, 2024
Paul Cahill in The Litigator: Expert Witness Qualification at Trial
Paul Cahill’s article on expert witness qualification was published in the Winter 2023/2024 edition of The Litigator, OTLA’s flagship publication.
January 8, 2024
Bad Doctor or Bad Genes? Genetic Defences in Medical Malpractice
When can a defendant compel genetic testing in a medical malpractice claim? An analysis of Klinck v Dorsay and Preece v Nicholson from a 2023 OTLA paper.
October 27, 2023
Veran v Derbyshire: A Late Defence Motion for a Neuropsychological Examination
A defence motion for a neuropsychological assessment was refused eight years after the statement of defence in a complex pediatric malpractice case.
October 3, 2023
Teaching Medical Malpractice at Windsor Law
The essential evidence required to prove a medical malpractice claim in Ontario. From a 2023 guest lecture at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law.
February 6, 2023
Tales from the Trenches: Two Medical Malpractice Trials in 2022
Reflections on two medical malpractice trials in post-COVID Ontario, one jury and one judge-alone. From Gluckstein’s 2022 Risky Business CLE.
November 29, 2022
Literature, Medicine and the Law at a Medical Malpractice Trial
Where literature, medicine, and the law intersect at a medical malpractice trial in Ontario. From a 2022 OTLA medical malpractice conference panel.
September 23, 2022
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