Navigating Legal Waters: Expert Witnesses and Medical Liability in Canada

This is a big one - what happens when we receive a malpractice claim? Medicine is a challenging field with high stakes. We all know colleagues who have been in this situation.

I'm thrilled to welcome Dr. Todd Watkins, associate CEO of the CMPA (Canadian Medical Protective Association) for a 101 on what to do & what to expect if we get sued.

Discussion Points:

Dr. Watkins' intro (2:18)
What is the CMPA (3:05)
How would you hear about a case against you? (6:02)
What information is on a statement of claim (8:02)
Timelines for a valid malpractice claim (10:30)
Knowledge of events vs cause of action (12:30)
What should you do when you get a claim? (16:45)
How the CMPA offers support during this time (19:47)
Are the lawyers internal or external? (21:13)
Can one pick their own lawyer? (21:53)
Who covers all the legal fees? (22:38)
Occurrence based protection & alternatives (23:03)
The key elements of the pre-trial process (25:27)
Expert witnesses (27:11)
Mediation (29:53)
Key data points, what % of cases go to trial (31:39)
What happens behind the scenes at the CMPA (34:37)
Court set up (35:57)
Financial damages - who pays? (37:28)
Appeals (38:40)
Dues (39:32)
Residents/trainees - can they be implicated of malpractice (41:05)
Closing thoughts (43:00)

CMPA: 

https://www.cmpa-acpm.ca/en/home

1-800-267-6522

Yatin:

• Email: beyondmdpodcast@gmail.com 
• LinkedIn: Yatin Chadha