Truck driver’s glaucoma claim collapses after string of missed deadlines

The court set clear deadlines after a September 2025 case-management conference. The worker’s expert report was due February 2, 2026. That date came and went – no report, no request for more time. 

It was not until February 19, more than two weeks after the deadline, that the worker filed a motion asking for extra time on discovery. Then on March 2 – the same day the employer’s expert report was due – Spooner filed to have the case decided in its favour without trial. 

What followed was a string of belated motions. The worker asked for more time on March 13, again on March 27, and sought leave to file his own motion on April 27. The court gave him a seven-day extension early on, but the expert report still did not materialise. 

On May 31, 2026, the trial court ruled in Spooner’s favour. It noted that the worker “has requested multiple extensions to obtain an expert report establishing that his eye condition (glaucoma) was caused by his employment,” and that “no expert has been identified, and no expert report has been generated to establish causation.” 

The worker had also submitted a pretrial statement on May 29, just two days before the ruling. But the appeals court found it did not help him. The medical professional referenced in that document addressed other conditions the worker reportedly suffers from – not whether his glaucoma was related to his job. And the worker listed himself as his sole witness. No expert.