Three to Be is a not for profit charity whose mission is to advocate and raise funds to support and advance the development of innovative research, education and therapies for children with neurological disorders. This first webinar in our legal education series, When Something is not Quite Right, explores the moment in time when parents realize that something is not quite right with their child. How you ask the question and where you can turn is often the greatest challenge. Brenda Agnew, Director of Three to Be’s Parent Advocacy Link (PAL), moderates a discussion with HSH founding partner, Neil Sacks and associate Meghan Hull Jacquin to help you determine what you need to know about medical malpractice. *Knowing when and how to identify a potential concern as a legal issue *How to find the right firm to discuss our concerns *How much will this cost me? *What will the timeline and process be if our “concerns” have a legal basis? *Things I need to know in deciding to proceed with a legal case

1. WHEN SOMETHING IS
NOT QUITE RIGHT.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT MEDICAL MALPRACTICE

2.  THREE TO BE is a foundation which
supports children with neurological
disorders and their families
 Focus on education, research and
therapy
 Brenda Agnew is Director of the Parent
Advocacy Link (PAL)
ABOUT THREE TO BE
1

3.  Neil E. Sacks
Founding Partner
Head, Medical Malpractice
Howie, Sacks & Henry LLP
 Meghan Hull Jacquin
Associate
Medical Malpractice
Howie, Sacks & Henry LLP
GUESTS
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4.  Are you considering a medical
malpractice lawsuit? If you need
answers, just ask.
 Email your questions to:
 Neil Sacks - nesacks@hshlawyers.com
 Meghan Hull Jacquin -
mhull@hshlawyers.com
 Call 1-877-474-5997 or 416-361-5990
SOMETHING NOT RIGHT? ALL
QUESTIONS ANSWERED
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5.  If your child has been diagnosed with a
neurological disorder
 If your child was treated in the NICU
(neonatal intensive care unit)
 If your child doesn’t seem to be
developing or progressing in their
milestones
 If you just have an intuition
WHAT ARE THE RED FLAGS?
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6.  Follow up with your family doctor and
pediatrician
 Try to get testings and investigations
done
 You may discover information which may
have legal aspects you might to want to
pursue.
TRY TO GET ANSWERS
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7.  Find out what happened out around the
birthing process.
 Your family doctor and pediatrician will
be helpful and well help you get records
 Try to speak with the obstetrician and
other birthing staff.
 Your questions might not be answered to
your satisfaction.
GATHER INFORMATION
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8.  Two separate charts: the child’s and
the mother’s
 You are entitled to these records
without question
 They can be obtained from the hospital
records department with a service fee for
copying
 Get copies as soon as you can
NEXT STEP:
GET THE MEDICAL RECORDS
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9. BEFORE CONSULTING
A LAWYER
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Preliminary
conversations
for hesitant
parents
Talk to other
parents
The more information you collect the better

10.  You have a right to the records which
ensures that records are preserved
 If your child has been diagnosed –
 Parent interest is long term
 Medical team interest is often short term
 The quality of your child’s care will not be
affected by your initial questions.
REMEMBER
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11.  Initially involves a phone call – free of
charge
 Completely confidential conversation
 You can decide to pursue or walk away
at any point in the conversation
 The lawyer:
 Carefully listens
 Asks questions
 Educates on the process
SPEAKING WITH A LAWYER
WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW?
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12.  A legal team that practices specifically in
Medical Malpractice, i.e. birth injuries
 Medical Malpractice is highly specialized
area of law practiced by only a few
lawyers
 How to find:
 Word of mouth
 THREE TO BE and other organizations
 Referral from the general community
 Ask your own lawyer to refer you.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
IN A LAWYER
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13.  Write a chronology in point form
 Note what your concerns are
 If you make notes as things happen it
can be emailed to a lawyer
 A chronology helps provide more
information
TIP: MAKE NOTES
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14.  Send in the required records so that
experienced lawyers can assess if there
is or is not a case
 No charge for the preliminary
investigation
 Experts will be asked for verbal opinions
 Lawyers will be in touch throughout the
process and share feedback on risks
going forward
NEXT STEP:
PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION
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15.  Very little; lawyers are doing the work at
this stage
 Focus your time and energies taking
care of your child
 The lawyers handle:
 The records
 Interaction with Experts
 We will report back with the results of the
investigation
WHAT’S EXPECTED FROM
PARENTS ?
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16.  It could take up to six months
 Could be longer if all records are harder
to track down
 Sometimes records aren’t immediately
forthcoming from the hospital
TIME FRAME OF THE INITIAL
INVESTIGATION
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17.  No hourly rates will be charged
 Contingency Fee Basis once the case is
taken on
 Investigation Stage – there may be out of
pocket costs for medical records and
medical experts/consultants
 Some lawyers will ask the family to cover
the costs or part of the costs upfront
 Our firm will often pay those costs, possibly
recovering them later as disbursements.
WHAT WILL THIS COST?
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18.  Serious personal injury lawyers, ranked
top 5 personal injury firms in Canada
 Significant component of our practice is
Medical Malpractice cases
 Most of which are Prenatal / Labour and
Delivery / Neonatal Care
HOWIE, SACKS & HENRY LLP
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19. 18
QUESTIONS?
Send us your
questions...

20. THREE TO BE
www.threetobe.org
Brenda Agnew – Brenda@threetobe.org
416-664-9938
Howie, Sacks & Henry LLP
www.hshlawyers.com
Neil Sacks - nesacks@hshlawyers.com
416-361-5811
Meghan Hull Jacquin - mhull@hshlawyers.com
416-361-7561
THANK YOU FOR YOUR
TIME.
WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU AND
YOUR FAMILY.