During an emergency procedure on April 17, 2017, a Stryker Trevo Stent Retriever device broke, leaving a portion in Mrs. Logan’s brain.
The plaintiffs seek approval under Rule 32 of the Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure to conduct destructive testing on the remaining part of the device to determine why it failed.
Key Issues:
Whether the Court should authorize the destructive testing of the device.
If permitted, under what conditions such testing should occur.
Court’s Findings:
Destructive testing is deemed necessary (interpreted as "useful or probative") to understand the cause of the device’s failure.
The Critical Portion of the device is small, and testing would destroy it, making repeat tests impossible.
Plaintiffs must first conduct non-destructive tests on an exemplar device and other available segments before testing the critical piece.
Terms for Testing:
Plaintiffs will pay for an exemplar device from Stryker for comparative testing.
Plaintiffs are to finalize non-destructive tests on available materials before testing the Critical Portion.
Both parties are to coordinate testing schedules, and defendants can observe.
Plaintiffs must share raw data from tests but bear the costs of their proposed tests.
Disposition:
A specific protocol for destructive testing is required, with room for objections from Stryker if the proposed method is found lacking.
No costs were awarded as success was divided between the parties.
