Articles

About Articles The following articles are published by the Health Law Section of the Ontario Bar Association. Members are encouraged to submit articles. About Articles

Editor: Rozmin Mediratta

Today
Today
Dead or Alive: A discussion of the constitutionality of brain death

Dead or Alive: A discussion of the constitutionality of brain death

  • March 04, 2019
  • Louis Winston, JD, BHSc., lawyer in professional regulation, Ontario

This article discusses the constitutionality of brain death through an examination of two recent Ontario court decisions: McKitty v. Hayani, 2018 ONSC 4015 and Ouanounou v Humber River Hospital et. al, 2018 ONSC 6511.

Health Law, Student Forum

Impaired Driving and Bodily Fluid Samples: What Hospitals and Healthcare Providers Should Know

  • December 12, 2018
  • Anna Marrison, Kate Deakon and Lucas Kilravey, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP.

This article considers the involvement of healthcare professionals in the collection of blood samples from drivers suspected by law enforcement of impaired driving. In light of legalization, and related changes to the Criminal Code, this article provides a timely overview of a hot topic that continues to develop, while touching on the issues healthcare professionals who find themselves in this situation should be alert to.

Health Law, Student Forum
Fairness or Flaw: Ontario PHIPA Orders and Issue Estoppel in Privacy Breach Cases

Fairness or Flaw: Ontario PHIPA Orders and Issue Estoppel in Privacy Breach Cases

  • December 05, 2018
  • Scott Robinson, associate, National Litigation Group, McCarthy Tetrault

On October 25, 2018, Perell J. of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released a decision in Broutzas v. Rouge Valley Health System, 2018 ONSC 6317. Broutzas raises some important considerations for the health law field pertaining to medical records and privacy under the Ontario Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, S.O. 2004, c. 3, Sched. A (“PHIPA”). This article examines these and other issues.

Health Law, Student Forum

Stirrett v Cheema et al: Ontario Court Explores Fiduciary Duty in Research-Participant Relationship

  • October 22, 2018
  • Nida Sohani

A recent decision from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice examines when a researcher-participant relationship in the context of human studies will give rise to fiduciary obligations. In Stirrett v Cheema et al, 2018 ONSC 2595, a plaintiff successfully recovered damages from a defendant physician on the basis that the doctor breached his fiduciary duty to the plaintiff’s deceased spouse who was a participant in the doctor’s study.

Health Law, Student Forum

15 Questions in 5 Minutes: Our Newsletter Editor sits down with a well-known health lawyer

  • October 10, 2018
  • Esther Nwator, OBA Health Law Section Executive, newsletter editor

This 'rapid fire' Q&A session with Lad Kucis is intended to give a brief insight into the career journey of a well-known Bay Street health lawyer. Primarily targeted at law students considering a career in health law, the piece offers a three-dimensional perspective of this lawyer's experiences of the practice area, and his advice for new lawyers.

Health Law, Student Forum
<em>S.H. v. D.H.</em>: Embryos are Legal Property in Ontario

S.H. v. D.H.: Embryos are Legal Property in Ontario

  • October 03, 2018
  • Lisa Feldstein and Priya Somascanthan, Lisa Feldstein Law Office

This article examines the court's analysis on the legal status of a frozen embryo in a recent Ontario decision. In the S.H. v. D.H. decision, a divorcing couple with no genetic connection to a frozen embryo (but a son with such a connection) invited the court to dispose of a contentious issue. This analysis from Lisa Feldstein looks at how the court ultimately resolved the issue and the factors and case law they considered along the way.

Health Law, Student Forum
Key Changes to the <em>RHPA </em>as of May 2018: A Primer for Health Law Counsel

Key Changes to the RHPA as of May 2018: A Primer for Health Law Counsel

  • October 03, 2018
  • Lad Kucis, Gardiner Roberts LLP, Certified Specialist in Health Law

This article examines recent changes impacting the Regulated Health Professions Act. The changes, which came into effect in May 2018, include additional self-reporting obligations for health professionals, new information to be posted to the Public Register and details regarding the expanded definition of "patient" for the purposes of sexual abuse provisions.

Health Law, Student Forum

10 Things to Know Now That Recreational Cannabis Will Be Legal in Canada

  • June 26, 2018
  • Esther Nwator and Christine Laviolette

Esther Nwator and Christine Laviolette offer a brief overview of the recent developments on this hot topic: the status of the legalization of cannabis, associated regulations, connection to Bill C-46 , and some of the key issues emerging from legalization.

Health Law, Student Forum