The use of a physician's medical reports at trial has been a
recurring topic in the Courts recently. One of the issues
that has been the focus of recent judicial commentary concerns the
use that can be made of medical reports that have been prepared by
a physician in the ordinary course of treating a patient. A
treating practitioner's reports will often express the
physician's opinion about matters that may be controversial
between parties to litigation – for example, the diagnosis of
an injured plaintiff's injury, his or her prognosis, or the
cause of an injury.
What use can be made of such "opinions" at
trial? In order for the opinions in these reports to be
admitted into evidence, is it necessary for the physician to author
a separate "expert report" and comply with all of the
requirements under the Rules of Civil Procedure for the admission
of expert evidence? These types of questions have been coming
before the Courts with regularity recently, and it
