Is a physician's opinion not admissible as a business record unless they are called as witnesses?

Nova Scotia, Canada


The following excerpt is from Abbott and Haliburton Company v. WBLI Chartered Accountants, 2013 NSCA 66 (CanLII):

In Tingley v. Wellington Insurance the plaintiffs sought admission of file materials and reports written by six physicians without calling them as witnesses. There was no issue about any of these physicians being, or appearing to be, objective and independent. The plaintiff argued the documents were admissible as business records under the common law or by statute or under the principled exception to hearsay. MacAdam J. ruled the materials admissible pursuant to the Evidence Act, and at common law, as an exception to the hearsay rule, but he would not permit admission of their opinions unless the witnesses testified (para. 40).

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