Patients v Regional Health Authority B
Lawyer Explains Class Action Against Regional Health Authority B
Ray Wagner is the lawyer representing patients suing Regional Health Authority B in the wake of the pathology scandal.
"We had to state...that if you allow a defence motion before certification, you'll end up going down a rabbit hole you'll never get out of," Wagner said of his efforts to convince Ouellette not to allow the health authority to do so.
He pointed to a case in Nova Scotia involving the Sydney Tar Ponds, where the defence has been allowed to make motion after motion before the case is certified.
"The problem with all of that is that now we are six years, five and a half years, before we will get to a certification motion in Sydney," he said.
Wagner said he's since used Ouellette's decision to argue against such moves by the defence in other cases.
While he said the hospital had some insurance, and doctors are typically covered by the Canadian Medical Protective Association, Wagner noted Canadian law was unclear whether the hospital had any kind of "vicarious liability" when it came to issues with doctors or pathologists. In many cases, they are seen as contractors to the hospital.
He said that issue would have to be looked at in more detail in the coming months. The next stage in the class action is a case management meeting.
For more information please contact:
Raymond Wagner
Phone: 1-800-465-8794
Fax: 902-422-1233
