Wrongfully accused mother wants right to sue pathologist

A woman, who was mistakenly accused of killing her daughter and is trying to sue a pathologist who testifiedat her trial, is taking her case before Ontario's appeal court Monday.

Louise Reynolds was arrested after her seven-year-old daughter Sharon was found under the stairs of their Kingston townhouse in 1997.

Pathologist Dr. Charles Smith concluded the girl died from more than 80 stab wounds to the head.

A second autopsy performed on Sharon's exhumed body in 1999 by a different pathologist concluded dog bites were responsible for some of the wounds. In 2001, all charges against Reynolds were dropped.

Reynolds' lawyer Peter Wardle launched a lawsuit claiming Smith's autopsy was performed negligently and recklessly.

The Kingston woman was denied the right to sue the pathologist because of a 2005 ruling by Ontario's Divisional Courtthat experts cannot be sued for giving professional opinions in court cases.

Wardle argues the witness protection rule does not cover the pathologist's investigation, which should be seen as separate from his testimony.