Laura Andrews

LAURA ANDREWS graduated from the University of British Columbia and received her Bachelor of Science, Physical Therapy degree in 1995 from the Faculty of Medicine.

Following her graduation from UBC, she worked in various private physiotherapy practices in the Greater Vancouver area. Laura’s primary treatment focus has been with orthopaedic and sports injuries, but she has also worked with neurological conditions and rheumatic diseases, and her treatment population has included all ages from paediatric to geriatric.

Laura joined the OT Consulting/Treatment Services team in 2002 as a locum physiotherapist and has worked on a multi-disciplinary team of clinicians within the occupational rehabilitation department, assessing, treating, coordinating, and assisting injured workers to return to work. She continues with that work at the present time. In 2012 she joined the company’s medical-legal department, and she is now accepted as an expert in the area of Physical Capacity Evaluations by the Supreme Court of British Columbia. She has also recently completed training to perform Cost of Future Care analyses, and this is now added to her repertoire of skills.

Laura continues to be active in private practice and sports physiotherapy, and although she no longer works and travels with provincial and national teams, she continues to be involved in this field. She also serves on the executive committee of one of the largest amateur multi-sports clubs in North America, the Meraloma Club.

She is a member of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association, the College of Physical Therapists of British Columbia, and the Physiotherapy Association of British Columbia.

Mary CarmanMARY CARMAN graduated from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, in 1987. Following graduation, she worked in both an out-patient rehabilitation setting and an acute care hospital, gaining experience with a variety of problems, including arthritis, orthopaedic injuries, and neurological conditions such as strokes, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, and brain injuries. During this time, she was also involved in teaching occupational therapy students in the hospital and at the University of Toronto.

In 1997, Mary moved to the west coast and into the area of community rehabilitation and private practice with OT Consulting/Treatment Services. She was involved in providing rehabilitation management services, immediate care needs for early discharge, return-to-work services, ergonomic assessments, Physical Capacity Evaluations, and Cost of Future Care analyses. She maintained her clinical focus by working on a casual basis with Mary Pack Arthritis Centre and GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre in the area of arthritis.

She returned to Ontario in 2001 and worked as an occupational therapy supervisor with a private rehabilitation company, carrying out in-home occupational therapy assessments to identify needs for attendant care, equipment, and services; coordinating active rehabilitation programs; performing physical job demands analyses, future care cost analyses, and ergonomic assessments; and providing education, training, and mentoring to occupational therapy staff.

On moving back to British Columbia in 2003, she returned to OTC, where she specialises in Physical Capacity Evaluations and Cost of Future Care assessments. Mary is registered with the College of Occupational Therapists of British Columbia and is a member of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists. She has been accepted as an expert witness by the Supreme Court of British Columbia. In addition, she is a co-author of the book entitled The Functional Capacity Evaluation – A Clinician’s Guide.

Outside of work, Mary enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter: travelling, doing crafts and art projects, gardening, and hanging out in hockey rinks.

Irene Chappell

IRENE CHAPPELL is an occupational therapist, a certified work capacity evaluator, and an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia. She is the founder of OT Consulting/Treatment Services Ltd.

In 1986, OTC was the first occupational therapy private practice clinic in BC to develop and implement work assessment and treatment programs. Today, the clinic employs 30+ specialists who provide services in assessment, treatment, and prevention of work-related injury. We’re proud of pioneering an industry that keeps growing and keeps improving the lives of others.

Irene has lectured in return-to-work issues and ergonomics at the School of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of British Columbia. She has appeared as a guest speaker at conferences throughout Canada, and internationally in Australia, England, and Hong Kong. She is a recognized authority on the evaluation and development of work potential.

Irene has been a consultant to a variety of industries and businesses, including legal firms, banking and educational institutions, the forestry sector, government municipalities, bakeries, and unions, and she has designed ergonomic programmes for these groups.

She has been recognized by the Supreme Court of British Columbia as an expert in return to work, ergonomics, and costing of future care needs. She has been published in the journal of the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia and in the Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy; Rehab Review; People Talk; and various other trade journals. She is a co-author of the book entitled The Functional Capacity Evaluation: A Clinician’s Guide and is the sole author of a second book, ESC Computer Pain: The 7 Commandments of Ergonomics.

Cynthia MorinCYNTHIA MORIN attended the University of Western Ontario between 1995 and 2001 where she completed a B.A. Honours in kinesiology and a Master of Clinical Science in occupational therapy. She has worked at OT Consulting/Treatment Services Ltd. since 2001. In addition to her work at OTC, she has worked as a clinician at the GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre in Vancouver in the Neuromuscular Skeletal Program, the Inpatient Arthritis Program, the Adolescent/Young Adult Program, and the Spasticity Clinic and the Spinal Cord Injury Program. In 2015 she took a sabbatical from GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre to work at the Rick Hansen Institute in the role of National Clinical Liaison, which involves implementing best practices in spinal cord injury care in rehabilitation programs across Canada.

Cynthia’s focus at OT Consulting is in the area of medical legal assessments, including Cost of Future Care assessments, Physical Capacity Evaluations, and ergonomic assessments. Her clinical work at GF Strong has given her first-hand knowledge of – and experience in – various neurological and musculoskeletal medical conditions and their potential long-term impact on an individual’s functioning. Cynthia has a particular passion for working with the spinal cord injury population, and she has a unique combination of clinical, research, and medical-legal assessment experience specific to spinal cord injuries.

Cynthia is a member of the College of Occupational Therapists of British Columbia and the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists. She has been qualified as an expert witness by the Supreme Court of British Columbia. In addition, Cynthia has presented at conferences and hosted webinars for provincial and national organizations including the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists, the British Columbia Trial Lawyers Association, and the Rick Hansen Institute.

Gerda Murray

GERDA MURRAY graduated with a B.Sc. (Hons) from the National University of Ireland, Galway, in 2010. During her years studying to be an occupational therapist, she worked as a care assistant supporting individuals with learning disabilities, a role that allowed her to provide care to people with challenging behaviours and various cognitive, sensory, and mobility issues.

She moved to Vancouver following her graduation, and since this move, she has worked in the occupational rehabilitation department at OT Consulting/Treatment Services Ltd., where she has assessed and treated people from diverse working backgrounds and has coordinated their gradual return to work. She has performed jobsite evaluations in a wide variety of work settings (health care, construction, food industry, etc.). Her work in this role has allowed Gerda to become proficient in assessing a worker’s physical and functional abilities, the physical demands of various workers’ roles, and their work environment, in order to determine their ability to return to work.

At the beginning of 2015, Gerda moved to the medical-legal department at OTC, where she now conducts Physical Capacity Evaluations to determine return-to-work potential and assembles Cost of Future Care analyses. She also works part-time in the occupational rehabilitation program as a clinician and provides training and supervision to junior occupational therapists.

Gerda is registered with the College of Occupational Therapists of BC and the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists and has been accepted as an expert witness by the Supreme Court of British Columbia. She participates in regular and on-going professional development to ensure best practice skills and has attended a number of Trial Lawyers Conference events.

Deborah Scott-Kerr

DEBBIE SCOTT-KERR graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1992 with a Bachelor of Medical Rehabilitation (Occupational Therapy). Over the past 24 years, she has worked in both the United States and Canada in a variety of clinical settings, including acute care, rehabilitation, and extended care. During four of those years, she practised in a community care setting where she provided rehabilitation services. She has gained experience working with clients in the areas of acquired brain injury, spinal cord injury, orthopaedics, neurology, rheumatology, and mental health.

At OT Consulting/Treatment Services Ltd., Debbie is working within the medical-legal department, where she performs Physical and Functional Capacity Evaluations and Cost of Future Care Analyses. In addition, Debbie works part-time on the Acquired Brain Injury Program at the GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre.

Debbie is registered with the College of Occupational Therapists of British Columbia and is a member of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists. She has been accepted as an expert witness by the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

ifestyle and has competed internationally as a member of Team Canada for Triathlon.

Megan Stacey

MEGAN STACEY completed a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology and History), graduating with distinction in 2001 from Malaspina University. She then attended the University of British Columbia, where she graduated from the Faculty of Medicine, School of Rehabilitation Sciences (Occupational Therapy) in 2004. While attending UBC, Megan gained clinical experience working in both hospital and community settings with adults who had suffered strokes and other acquired brain injuries; geriatrics in a community outreach program and an extended care facility; adults who had sustained workplace injuries; and children with psychiatric conditions.

Megan joined the OT Consulting/Treatment Services Ltd. team following her graduation from UBC. She worked on a multi-disciplinary team of clinicians within the occupational rehabilitation department, honing her skills in Functional Capacity Evaluation, Job Demands Analysis, Gradual Return to Work planning, and ergonomics. She has performed numerous job-site evaluations and ergonomic assessments in a diverse labour market throughout the Lower Mainland and the BC interior. In this role, she also provided supervision and mentorship to student occupational therapists on clinical placement as well as to junior therapists in the department.

In 2007 she joined the medical legal department and has been conducting Functional Capacity Evaluations (in the Greater Vancouver area) and Cost of Future Care analyses (across British Columbia) for individuals with both physical injuries and acquired brain injury. She continues to provide mentorship to junior occupational therapists. She regularly participates in continuing education pertaining to physical assessment, and the assessment and treatment of acquired brain injury.

Megan has been qualified as an expert witness in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. She is a registrant in good standing with the College of Occupational Therapists of British Columbia and is also a member of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists.

CATHERINE THOMPSON (née DOUGLAS) graduated from Brunel University in London, England, in 2004, with a B.Sc. (Hons) in occupational therapy. After graduating, she worked for 3 years in a high security forensic unit for women, prior to moving to Vancouver in 2007.

Since living in Vancouver, Catherine has worked in occupational rehabilitation programs, assessing and treating injured workers and coordinating their gradual return to work. She has performed job-site evaluations in a diverse labour market and is proficient in assessing an individual’s physical skills and the physical demands of their work place. Catherine has also worked as a team leader in a chronic pain management program for 6 years, educating and supporting individuals whose lives have been impacted by chronic pain. She has presented on the topic of return to work and chronic pain at provincial conferences.

She joined OT Consulting/Treatment Services in 2012 and now conducts Physical Capacity Evaluations to determine return-to-work potential and assembles Cost of Future Care analyses for injured individuals. She has been accepted as an expert witness by the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

She is registered with the College of Occupational Therapists of British Columbia and is a member of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists and the World Federation of Occupational Therapists.