FREDERICTON - The New Brunswick Court of Appeal has ruled that a class-action lawsuit against a pathologist and a former regional health authority over pathology errors should proceed.
In the decision, the appeal court ruled that a lower court decision denying the lawsuit is out of step with the Supreme Court of Canada's interpretation of certification legislation.
In March 2012, the Court of Queen's Bench dismissed the class-action suit sought by three patients of Dr. Rajgopal Menon (RAHJ'-go-paul MEH'-nin), concluding that the plaintiffs failed to establish an identifiable class.
Menon worked as a pathologist at the Miramichi Regional Hospital between 1995 and 2007 until an audit of his work found 18 per cent of 227 breast and prostate cancer reports were incomplete.
The review also concluded that three per cent of those tests were incorrect.
A later review of 23,000 tests done by Menon found a complete or partial change in the results in about a quarter of the cases.
A public inquiry in 2007 concluded that the hospital had hired Menon in a rush and without proper background checks on his level of competency.