Bogoroch & Associates LLP

Brodie Lawson  00:00:07 

Welcome to Bogoroch and Associates for this Lexpert firm profile. I'm Brodie Lawson from Lexpert, and today we're learning more about one of Ontario's premier personal injury firms, Bogoroch and Associates LLP. Richard Bogoroch, Managing Partner, will discuss his firm, what sets it apart, and how the expertise and dedication of its lawyers contributes to its success. I'd love to hear about any significant milestones or big wins that you'd like to showcase. 

Richard Bogoroch  00:00:37 

We've been very fortunate being able to achieve excellent results on behalf of our clients, we've had many cases which stand out, but for the interest of time, I want to mention a number of cases which have been reported. When I mean reported. They can be found in the legal database known as Canlii, c, a, n, l, double, I. There are many cases that we have tried and are reflected in Canley, but there's a few that come to mind, which we think have had impacts on the law. Now, some of these cases, the amount in dispute is not overly substantial, but the point that we've been able to achieve are important. One of these cases is a case called Serge deo, which I tried in 2015 we were very successful in front of a jury, and we were successful in the Court of Appeal. A young woman goes to an emergency department. Her condition is not properly diagnosed, she's not properly cared for or treated, and she dies. It was a terrible case. She was a very young woman in her 30s and married, and it's a tragedy for her, parents, her husband, and everyone she knew was affected by, of course, her untimely and very early death. But what was important about the case was our determination to see it all the way through to trial, but also to achieve what we think in this case called Surujdeo, s, u r, u j, d, e, o, is the Court of Appeal clarifying some very important issues on causation, on the rules of a jury, on what is called pull, and some technical issues of pulling a jury and the jury questions. And so we think that case is notable, and it stands out because reasons of the Court of Appeal. So that case is important to us. There was another case as well, which we which we tried, actually during COVID, called Boutcher, also on Canlii, B, O, U, T, C, H, E, R. And why Boutcher stands out for us is that it deals with the role of expert evidence, and we were successful in that case. Is one of the first zoom trials. We tried the case in November of 2020, it was a virtual trial, and we were fortunate to be successful in that case. But it's also important about the role of experts. We've also had some cases which which were reported as well, which was a very significant birth trauma case called bunch in which the justice of the Superior Court of Justice set out some of the parameters or requirements for court approval of a settlement and some of the factors that went into it. And that case also resulted in a very significant damage award, or we're I don't want to mention all the awards. It seems. We don't like boasting about our achievements. Our Record speaks for itself. But what these cases are important is that they highlight our commitment to access to justice, to ensuring that our clients needs are are paramount and and are pursued vigorously. And for us, what is important is that we're able, through our advocacy and expertise, to make a difference in our clients lives, and this case, was a severely disabled child born as a result of negligence. There is negligence in the in the labor and delivery, and our goals are always to achieve justice for our clients, to enable them to have a life of dignity. And we are gratified that in that particular case, we achieved a result that provides for the dignity of our clients for her entire life. We also had a lot of cases which were are settling and settling very effectively and getting justice for our clients so that they can have the funds necessary for them to have a life and a better life. And that's all that these civil lawsuits can do, is to achieve compensation for people who've whose loved one has died as a result of medical or hospital negligible negligence, or who've been badly damaged sustained terrible injuries and dad or damages as a result of medical or hospital negligence, and all we can do, as I mentioned, is to provide the measure of compensation so that they can have a better life. And we're gratified that we can. Make Improvements in our clients lives and give them the money necessary to have, as I've always indicated, a dignified life free from the financial strain caused by the negligence. 

Brodie Lawson  00:05:15 

I know sometimes there's conversation around audit trails, so I'm wondering if you'd be able to elaborate on audit trails and why they're such a critical piece of best practice when running a medical malpractice case. 

Richard Bogoroch  00:05:28 

Thank you. Audit trails are very important. They're how hospitals ensure their staff comply with their own privacy policies, as well as the statutory requirements of something called the HEPA, where the Personal Health Information Protection Act of 2004 now what the HEPA does is ensure patient privacy. And fundamental to the delivery of health care is ensuring patient privacy. And what audit trails really are is a trail of anyone accessing the patient chart for any doctor, any nurse, any healthcare provider, who is accessing the patient chart and enters a code into the system, and they then have access to the chart, and it includes if they make any entry in the chart, if they're looking at The chart. So the audit trails are a very important record of who's looking at the hospital chart, who's making entries in the hospital chart. When is that occurring now? How is that significant in medical malpractice litigation, as I mentioned, fundamental to the delivery of health care, not just in Ontario, but throughout North America, is patient privacy, the safeguarding of patient records, only those who have a legal obligation or a statutory obligation or requirement to look at the record should do so. And what we've found, what has happened is in cases where the patient has died and there's going to be a lawsuit after the patient's death, when there's no more issue about delivering any care, if health care practitioners look at the record, that's something that we think is inappropriate and wrong and contrary to the legislation. And we'll raise those issues on the in the lawsuit and in the examinations for discovery, which is an important step in the lawsuit. So these audit trail, for example, when a patient is discharged and a physician who may have treated that patient no longer has any obligation to deal with the patient is no longer providing any care or treatment, that physician or those physicians have no right to look or to access the health record. I should say that's and they shouldn't do that. And so what we do in our medical malpractice lawsuits is ensure that there has been compliance with the Personal Health Information Protection Act of 2004 that our clients or their family members confidentiality has been preserved. This is all very important, but we've done that, and what we've done, we've also brought proceedings or motions to request audit trails, and we've been successful on that, and that's an important endorsement in one of our cases, in a case called law L, E, W, the Associate Justice confirmed that audit trails are relevant and producible when properly pleaded. What that means is, if you plead that in the Statement of Claim, which is the document that initiates the lawsuit, you can ask questions about it and request and request production of the audit trails. So the audit trails are a very important instrument or plaintiff's counsel to find out if there's been unauthorized access of the record. That's a bishop privacy, and that has to be accounted for and answered for. 

Brodie Lawson  00:08:46 

Can you tell us about the firm's approach to medical malpractice cases? What about Bogoroch and Associates sets you apart from other firms? 

Richard Bogoroch  00:08:56 

What we have, and we're very proud of it. We have a model of cooperation and collaboration, it's a team oriented approach. The only way to handle litigation, in my view, is to have a team assigned to each particular case. Generally, it's a partner. Sometimes it's two partners, particularly on complex medical malpractice cases, and an associate and a law clerk. And we want to make sure the cases are handled efficiently, effectively, and by having a team, we can move these cases expeditiously through a very lengthy court process, litigation process. It enables efficiency. It enables that the client knows that there's a team working for them, and that we're able to ensure that the lawyers with the most experience on a particular case are assigned to that case so that the best possible outcome can be achieved. And so we do that, as I say, to enhance efficiency, to ensure that there's a collaborative approach, which is a team oriented approach to litigation, to make sure that the clients know that if, for example, if I'm generally involved in. Almost every now to come out practice case in the firm. But if, if there's a case I'm not involved, and then the another partner will be involved in cases that I'm involved in, say, for example, I'm away, and then here's some issues or questions, there's another partner or senior associate who's always knowledgeable about the case. So it's an effective way of handling cases. It's an effective way of ensuring training of younger lawyers, and it's, I believe, one of the most effective ways of providing for best client outcomes. 

Brodie Lawson  00:10:28 

What does the future hold for Bogoroch and Associates?  

Richard Bogoroch  00:10:31 

Well, thank you. That's a very good question. We are committed and dedicated to our practice. We hope to continue to grow the area which has a lot of growth, not that personal injury doesn't, but the area that has large growth is medical malpractice. We have cases in different parts of Canada. We have cases throughout Ontario. And our goal will remain, and our objective will remain, is to hold doctors and nurses accountable for any harm they cause to our patients, to seek justice for those who require justice where the case requires justice, and to pursue our cases with great courage, determination, persistence, and above all, a compassion and understanding of what our clients have gone through, and to make sure that we are able, through our expertise, our dedication And our hard work to provide them with the compensation they need to live a life of dignity and to have the money that they need to make their lives better. 

Brodie Lawson  00:11:29 

Thank you so much, Richard. 

Richard Bogoroch  00:11:33 

Thank you very much. I appreciate it.  

Brodie Lawson  00:11:36 

Thank you.for joining us to learn more about Bogoroch and Associates. I'm Brodie Lawson for Lexpert. Until next time you.