CLE Online

Introduction

Roles and Boundaries: Lawyers, Patients and Mental Health Professionals

• qualifications and standards
• professionalism/boundaries and ethics
• engagement issues and the expert report
• when and how to get expert assistance

Dr. Roy J. O’Shaughnessy — Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, UBC, Vancouver

Unpacking Mental Disorders: Co-Morbidity and Causation

• limitations in  medico-legal settings
• common mental disorders
• MTBI and PTSD
• co-morbidity

Dr. Roy J. O’Shaughnessy — Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, UBC, Vancouver

Networking Break

The Legal Framework for Psychiatric and Neuropsychological Evidence

• the medical-legal nexus
• causation and indivisible injuries
• co-morbidity
• prior history and vulnerability: thin skull and crumbling skull
• the role of mitigation
• assessing damages

Catherine L. Woods, QC — Alexander Holburn Beaudin & Lang LLP, Vancouver
Albert Roos, QC — Sugden McFee Roos LLP, Vancouver

Neuropsychological Assessments

• the training and qualifications of neuropsychologists
• caveats with Canadian professional certification and US specialty boards
• what kind of experience to look for
• what is Neuropsychological Testing and what it brings to brain injury claims

Dr. Michael Joschko — Consultant in Clinical Psychology and Clinical Neuropsychology,  Victoria

Networking Lunch with Featured Speaker

Appellate Review of Expert Medical Evidence
The Honourable Mr. Justice Peter M. Willcock — British Columbia Court of Appeal, Vancouver

Neuropsychiatric Complication after Traumatic Brain Injury

• overview of the taxonomy of TBI severity
• become familiar with common psychiatric complications of TBI including depression and PTSD
• appreciate common post-TBI neurological issues including headache, sleep problems, and dementia

Dr. William Panenka — Assistant Professor (Psychiatry), Faculty of Medicine, UBC, Vancouver

Chronic Pain: Understanding the Past, Moving into the Future

• how we understand pain
• assessment issues
• treatment challenges and opportunities
• implications for litigation

Dr. Stephen R. Wiseman — Psychiatrist, St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver

Networking Break

Psychiatric and Neuropsychological Evidence at Trial

• what a good report should contain
• the single expert approach — implications for psych issues (doctor and lawyer)
• best practices for managing your expert pre-trial and at trial
• practical tips and pointers

Moderator: Catherine L. Woods, QC — Alexander Holburn Beaudin & Lang LLP, Vancouver
Carla L. Forth, QC — Guild Yule LLP, Vancouver 
Dr. Michael Joschko — Consultant in Clinical Psychology and Clinical Neuropsychology, Victoria
Dr. Roy J. O’Shaughnessy — Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, UBC, Vancouver
Dr. William Panenka — Assistant Professor (Psychiatry), Faculty of Medicine, UBC , Vancouver
Dr. Stephen R. Wiseman — Psychiatrist, St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver

Concluding Remarks