Lawyers oppose expert witness

Lawyers for two motorcyclists on trial for criminal negligence causing the death of a 79-year-old pedestrian on 17th Avenue S.W. nearly two years ago will try to block an expert Crown witness from testifying at trial.  

Lawyers for [the accused] told the judge that the senior’s records indicate he did not die from injuries sustained in the crash on May 9, 2005. They said the expert witness, medical examiner Sam Andrews, based his opinion about the cause of death on health records just disclosed to them on Wednesday, and are pertinent to their clients’ ability to make a full defence.

Lawyers David Chow and Charlie Stewart said the medical records have been in the hands of the medical examiner’s office since July 2005. Stewart later said that among the 23 pages of medical files just received, it was gleaned that [the victim] died 15 days later of lung cancer. The cancer was only discovered when he was admitted to hospital with cracked ribs, a cracked pelvis and broken ankle - all non-life-threatening injuries.

Andrews concluded [the victim] died of pulmonary contusions on his lungs as a result of blunt-force trauma, according to documents submitted on Wednesday. “The reason most responsible for death is lung cancer,” Stewart told Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Peter McIntyre. “This is absolutely critical disclosure for the cross-examination of the expert, and it was not given to us until the middle...

2007-03-29
Calgary Herald
By: Daryl Slade