Grennan Estate v. Reddoch et al., (2002) 176 B.C.A.C. 90 (YukCA)

• Judge: Ryan, Braidwood and Hall, JJ.A.
• Court: Court of Appeal (Yukon Territory)
• Case Date: December 13, 2002
• Jurisdiction: Yukon
• Citations: (2002), 176 B.C.A.C. 90 (YukCA);2002 YKCA 17

Grennan Estate v. Reddoch (2002), 176 B.C.A.C. 90 (YukCA);

    290 W.A.C. 90

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2002] B.C.A.C. TBEd. DE.014

Simon Edward Grennan, Administrator of the Estate of Mary-Ann Grennan, Deceased (respondent/plaintiff) v. Dr. Allon Reddoch and Whitehorse General Hospital (appellants/defendants)

(00-YU452; 00-YU453; 2002 YKCA 17)

Indexed As: Grennan Estate v. Reddoch et al.

Yukon Court of Appeal

Ryan, Braidwood and Hall, JJ.A.

December 13, 2002.

Summary:

The estate of a deceased patient brought an action against the defendant doctor and hospital for damages for medical malprac­tice.

The Yukon Supreme Court allowed the action, finding the doctor negligent and 2/3 liable and the hospital vicariously liable for the negli­gence of a nurse and 1/3 liable. The defend­ants appealed.

The Yukon Court of Appeal allowed the appeals and dismissed the action against both defendants.

Editor's Note: See also the previous case in these reports. See also a related case on disciplinary proceedings against the de­fen­dant doctor at 161 B.C.A.C. 131; 263 W.A.C. 131.

Estoppel - Topic 386

Estoppel by record (res judicata) - Res judicata as a bar to subsequent proceedings - Issues decided in prior proceedings (incl. valid­ity of statutes) - [See Estoppel - Topic 388 ].

Estoppel - Topic 388

Estoppel by record (res judicata) - Res judicata as a bar to subsequent proceedings - Deci­sions of administrative tribunals - Disci­plinary proceedings were commenced against a family physician after a pa­tient's death - The Medical Council found the doctor guilty of unprofessional conduct (which was overturned on appeal) - A civil action was also com­menced against the doctor for medical negligence - The doctor was found neg­ligent and 2/3 at fault - The Yukon Court of Appeal held that it would be unjust to import the findings of an ad­min­istrative tribunal such as the Medical Cou­ncil into the related civil proceedings - Issue estoppel would not apply as a basis for an adverse finding against the doctor - See paragraphs 28, 30 to 35.

Hospitals - Topic 2102

Liability of hospitals - For acts of others - For acts of nurses - A teenaged hospi­tal patient suffering from the rare disease botulism was mis-diagnosed - She was found not breathing; resuscitation efforts preserved life, but she never regained consciousness due to deprivation of oxy­gen - She died months later - The hos­pital was found vicariously liable for the negli­gence of one nurse and 1/3 at fault - The Yukon Court of Appeal held that the nurse was not neglectful of her patient and did not fail to comply with appropriate nursing standards - The court dismissed the pa­tient's estate's case against the hos­pital - See paragraphs 50 to 53.

Medicine - Topic 4250

Liability of practitioners - Negligence or fault - Failure to diagnose an illness - A teenaged patient was ad­mitted to hospi­tal on a Saturday; the diagnosis was gastroenteritis - Her fam­ily physician attended her Sun­day after­noon and Mon­day - He diag­nosed anae­mia and later, tonsil­litis - On Monday even­ing the patient was found not breathing, but resus­citation preserved life for sev­eral months - She suffered irre­versible brain damage and never regained con­sciousness - The Yukon Court of Appeal held that the physician acted appropriate­ly in his as­sessment and treat­ment of the patient, having no cause to suspect she was in grave peril from a rare and lethal disease (botulism) - This illness was difficult to diagnose and the patient dis­played some­what atypical symptoms and appeared at times to improve - See para­graphs 36 to 49.

Medicine - Topic 6866

Nurses - Negligence - Patient care - Negli­gent care - [See Hospitals - Topic 2102 ].

Cases Noticed:

Danyluk v. Ainsworth Technologies Inc. et al., [2001] 2 S.C.R. 460; 272 N.R. 1; 149 O.A.C. 1, consd. [para. 30].

British Columbia (Minister of Forests) v. Bugbusters Pest Management Inc. (1998), 107 B.C.A.C. 191; 174 W.A.C. 191; 50 B.C.L.R.(3d) 1 (C.A.), consd. [para. 32].

Burchill v. Yukon Territory (Commis­sioner) (2002), 165 B.C.A.C. 295; 270 W.A.C. 295 (Yuk. C.A.), consd. [para. 33].

Raison v. Fenwick (1981), 120 D.L.R.(3d) 622 (B.C.C.A.), dist. [para. 34].

Child v. Vancouver General Hospital (1968), 67 W.W.R.(N.S.) 169, affd. [1970] S.C.R. 477, refd to. [para. 36].

Neuzen v. Korn, [1995] 3 S.C.R. 674; 188 N.R. 161; 64 B.C.A.C. 241; 105 W.A.C. 241; [1995] 10 W.W.R. 1; 127 D.L.R.(4th) 577, refd to. [para. 42].

Lapointe v. Chevrette, [1992] 1 S.C.R. 351; 133 N.R. 116; 45 Q.A.C. 262; 90 D.L.R.(4th) 7, refd to. [para. 44].

Brimacombe v. Mathews et al. (2001), 150 B.C.A.C. 71; 245 W.A.C. 71; 87 B.C.L.R.(3d) 75 (C.A.), dist. [para. 45].

Anderson v. Chasney, [1949] 4 D.L.R. 71 (Man. C.A.), affd. [1950] 4 D.L.R. 223 (S.C.C.), consd. [para. 47].

Authors and Works Noticed:

American Law Institute, Restatement of the Law (Second), Judgments (2nd Ed. 1982), vol. 2, s. 83(2)(e) [para. 34].

Counsel:

C.E. Hinkson, Q.C., and N.L. Trevethan, for the appellant, Dr. Allon Reddoch;

J.C. Grauer, for the appellant, Whitehorse General Hospital;

R.D. Gibbens, for the respondent.

This appeal was heard in Vancouver, British Columbia, on October 21 to 23, 2002, before Ryan, Braidwood and Hall, JJ.A., of the British Columbia Court of Appeal. The decision of the court was delivered by Hall, J.A., on December 13, 2002.