Medical & Legal Services

The medical legal services Turning Point provides includes Peer Review/rebuttal reports, response reports and general litigation support. Although our team does not have any published court judgments indicating we have testified on behalf of the defence, we are retained to provide litigation support to defence lawyers in the form of a rebuttal or critique of another medical legal report.  Typically, this work arises from defence lawyers who have cross-examined our experts.

Our education, training and trial experience facilitates a high-level peer review/rebuttal and response that follows a standard methodology including:

1. Jurisdiction or System Rules
2. Best Practices (were best practices used in preparing the report in question that are consistent with consensus statements in the field)
3. Ethical Guidelines (is the life care plan consistent)
4. Standards of Practice (were standards of practice in the field of life care planning followed)
5. Transparency (is it clear what methods of assessment, document review, cost sources and research were used and are these methods reproducible)
6. Conclusions/Recommendations (Are the findings, conclusions and recommendations supported by the facts and research provided within the report).

Our training as CLCP's includes an ethical component whereas we follow the same standard methodology regardless of who has retained our services to provide a peer review/rebuttal that is focussed on the content and not the creator.

CFC by CERTIFIED LIFE CARE PLANNERS (CCLCP/CLCP)

Our Certified Life Care Planners adhere to the published standards of practice and methodology of the International Academy of Life Care Planners (IALCP).  A critique of a life care plan, relies on the published standard methodology in life care planning and the step by step process as the basis for rebutting and critiquing the expert report.

FCE by CERTIFIED WORK/FUNCTIONAL CAPACITY EVALUATORS (CWCE/CFCE)

Our Certified Work/Functional Capacity Evaluators adhere to the JTECH Medical and Matheson philosophy that objective functional testing assists with identifying functional deficits, assessing safety to perform functional activities, and assessing consistency of effort.  The purpose of the FCE is to provide an objective measure of an individual’s safe functional abilities compared to the physical demands of work.

Unlike life care planning, there is not one accepted or published methodology pertaining to FCE.  For example, there are critics of effort testings whereas, most FCEs include effort testing.  Or, how some FCEs used standardized tools whereas, others use common household objects. In Canada though Matheson FCE training and methodology is especially popular.

Regardless of the training company, there are commonly accepted principles within the OT literature for designing, conducting and writing up a FCE which are explained and utilized when critiquing a functional capacity evaluation.  For example, client follow-up following a FCE is standard procedure to determine the effect of the FCE on an individual's symptoms and function.

VOC by CERTIFIED VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION PROFESSIONAL (CVRP)

Our Certified Vocational Rehabilitation Professional, adheres to the College of Vocational Rehabilitation Professionals standards of practice to assist individuals to access, maintain or return to vocational activities, and to determine and facilitate access to any vocational rehabilitation and/or support services needed to achieve their desired goals. A critique of a vocational assessment will rely on the standards of practice in vocational rehabilitation as the basis for rebutting and critiquing the expert report.

FAQS:

1.  How many times have you testified on behalf of a defendant?  Although retained by defence for litigation support, often times a verbal rebuttal and/or critique is requested and an expert report is not requested.  We actively market to defence lawyers, but we do not have control of those referrals.  It is our understanding that defence lawyers are unable to request specific experts but need to request them from the insurer.
2. What percentage of your work is plaintiff?  At Turning Point each of our experts are a preferred provider for ICBC and they continue to maintain an active rehabilitation caseload, funded by insurers such as ICBC.  We work with insurers on a regular basis to assess client, make recommendations and seek funding.  The percentage of expert work versus clinical work varies amongst each expert and varies with fluctuations in caseload.

CONTACT US

We do not have a waitlist for defence referrals and we offer free consultations.