{"id":7992,"date":"2022-02-08T12:20:15","date_gmt":"2022-02-08T17:20:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/360mediations.com\/en\/?p=7992"},"modified":"2022-02-08T12:20:17","modified_gmt":"2022-02-08T17:20:17","slug":"shopping-around-for-medical-experts-in-personal-injury-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mail.360mediations.com\/en\/shopping-around-for-medical-experts-in-personal-injury-claims\/","title":{"rendered":"Shopping Around for Medical Experts in Personal Injury Claims"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SHOPPING AROUND FOR MEDICAL EXPERTS IN PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although the title to this post should more appropriately be \u201cPLAINTIFFS CANNOT REFUSE TO PRODUCE ORIGINAL IMAGING FILMS,\u201d <\/strong>the case really highlights the mistrust between litigants, especially when it comes to medical experts: the hired-gun psychosis.<\/p>\n

During an examination for discovery, the lawyer for a personal injury plaintiff took the position that their client\u2019s original imaging films only had to be produced to the defendant\u2019s medical expert.\u00a0 In other words, according to the plaintiff, the defendant didn\u2019t have the right to see the original imaging films, or possess them, on the basis that such films are meaningless to lay people, and once the defendant retains an expert, the imaging films become meaningful because that expert can make \u201csense\u201d of what is on display in the imaging films.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Put it another way, although the original imaging films were relevant, their relevancy only truly materialized when in the hands of an expert.<\/p>\n

The \u201cboogieman\u201d for the plaintiff, and for the plaintiff bar in general, is the concern that defendant insurance companies will simply take these documents and \u201cshop them around\u201d to various medical experts until they find the one that will give them an opinion that is favourable to the defendant before this expert is formally retained to conduct a defence medical examination of the plaintiff.\u00a0 The Plaintiff bar reasons that the only reason a defendant would need such a document ahead of time is to allow them to have people (in this case medical experts) read the document for them: hence opening up the door to having multiple experts providing various opinions so that they can select the one they like the best. \u00a0The Plaintiff wanted, in effect, to pin the defendant into selecting the interpreter first, then providing the document to that expert interpreter.<\/p>\n

But the court disagreed with the plaintiff.\u00a0 In this regard, the court said:<\/p>\n

\u201c (I do not) \u2026 accept the plaintiffs\u2019 argument that the production could lead to a fishing expedition by the defendants because they would then be able to present the diagnostic imaging to multiple medical practitioners who could produce reports that the defendants are not obliged to provide to the plaintiffs.\u00a0 The defendants are entitled to receive the original diagnostic imaging, which is relevant, and it is not for the plaintiffs to determine how the defendants choose to use it. Further, I do not accept the plaintiffs\u2019 argument that the existing production of medical reports that refer to the original diagnostic imaging is sufficient. The original diagnostic imaging should be produced to the defendants so that they can decide whether they wish to seek opinions based on those records or use it at trial.\u201d<\/p>\n

I do not agree with the opening statement above: simply put, imaging films can be shopped around and I don\u2019t understand the legal gymnastics in refusing to \u201caccept\u201d this fact or possibility.\u00a0 Indeed, and to go one step further, imaging films can be shopped around by both sides<\/u>: making this a classic \u201cwhat\u2019s good for the goose is good for the gander<\/em>\u201d type situation.\u00a0 Defendants always have to contend with the prospect that plaintiffs can shop around for experts that are \u201csupportive,\u201d and in this landscape, it would be trifling unfair to permit one party to do this, while the other party\u2019s hands are tied.\u00a0 So just like the defendants can\u2019t control how the plaintiff uses the imaging films, so too \u201cit is not for the plaintiffs to determine how the defendants choose to use it:\u201d<\/em> to this I agree.<\/p>\n

But the hope is that everyone is simply searching for the truth, and not scheming to twist it.\u00a0 Shopping around does not serve anyone.\u00a0 If any party finds themselves doing this, then there is likely a big problem brewing: grounding your position on lies and deceit (ie: two doctors already disagree, but I found one that supports my theory).\u00a0 With deception, bad decisions are made: more money is invested, more time is consumed, and if the position taken by the party is poorly grounded (whether it be by the defence or by the plaintiff), the end result is typically not very good for that party.<\/p>\n

There is no harm in a defendant receiving medical opinion categorizing a plaintiff\u2019s injuries and impairments as catastrophic if such is the case because then good decisions can be made thereafter (proper adjustment, proper trial strategy, proper settlement strategy, etc).\u00a0 Conversely, there is no harm in a plaintiff receiving medical opinion to the effect that their injuries are minor and are very unlikely to cause any long-term deficits.\u00a0 Again, good decisions can be made thereafter, including, if necessary, dropping the case before the plaintiff gets consumed by a mountain of disbursements and years of unnecessary worry and stress, or perhaps choosing to pursue damages in Small Claims Court where theories can be tested quickly and without too much downside (see Personal Injury Claims in Small Claims Court<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Han et al v. Elliott et al<\/em><\/strong>, 2022 ONSC 857<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.canlii.org\/en\/on\/onsc\/doc\/2022\/2022onsc857\/2022onsc857.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SHOPPING AROUND FOR MEDICAL EXPERTS IN PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS Although the title to this post should more appropriately be \u201cPLAINTIFFS CANNOT REFUSE TO PRODUCE ORIGINAL IMAGING FILMS,\u201d the case really highlights the mistrust between litigants, especially when it comes to medical experts: the hired-gun psychosis. During an examination for discovery, the lawyer for a personal… Continue reading Shopping Around for Medical Experts in Personal Injury Claims<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[53,163],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-court-practice","category-personal-injury","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nShopping Around for Medical Experts in Personal Injury Claims - 360Mediations<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Personal injury litigants can't stop one another from shopping around for "supportive" medical experts, but such a practice is questionable.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.360mediations.com\/en\/shopping-around-for-medical-experts-in-personal-injury-claims\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Shopping Around for Medical Experts in Personal Injury Claims - 360Mediations\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Personal injury litigants can't stop one another from shopping around for "supportive" medical experts, but such a practice is questionable.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.360mediations.com\/en\/shopping-around-for-medical-experts-in-personal-injury-claims\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"360Mediations\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/360Mediations-120028596572318\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/360Mediations-120028596572318\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-02-08T17:20:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-02-08T17:20:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mail.360mediations.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/COURT-DECISIONS-360MEDIATIONS-1x1-1.png?fit=406%2C322&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"406\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"322\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David M. 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