Can a treating physician testify as an expert at a trial?

British Columbia, Canada


The following excerpt is from Gaebel v. Lipka, 2017 BCCA 432 (CanLII):

With respect, there is no rule of law or practice that a treating physician cannot testify as an expert. To the extent the trial judge suggests that such a practice may be problematical, I am of the view that she erred. MacEachern v. Rennie, 2009 BCSC 939 does not stand for that proposition. It concerns the propriety of an opposing party approaching a treating physician to obtain evidence. The weight to be given to the evidence of any physician, whether they be the treating physician or an independent expert, will depend on the circumstances of the particular case. In many cases, the treating physician will in fact be in the best position to opine on the injuries that a party has suffered. SUMMARY

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