On December 10, 2018 the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee (ICRC) referred a matter involving Jason Taddeo to the Discipline Committee for a hearing.
The hearing took place on February 24, 2021 and April 22, 2021. This matter was resolved by way of an Agreed Statement of Facts and a Joint Submission on Penalty.
Finding
The panel of the Discipline Committee issued a decision on the finding on April 22, 2021, on the penalty on April 22, 2021 and on costs on April 22, 2021.
After having considered all of the evidence, a panel of the Discipline Committee found Jason Taddeo to have committed the following acts of professional misconduct:
- Paragraph 1 (Reg 388/08) failing to maintain the standards of the profession);
- Paragraph 27 (Reg 388/08) (falsifying a record);
- Paragraph 28 (Reg 388/08) (signing or issuing a document that the Registrant knows or ought to know contains a false or misleading statement);
- Paragraph 32 (Reg 388/08) (submitting an account or charge for services that the Registrant knows or ought to know is false or misleading);
- Paragraph 18 (Reg 388/08) (engaging in conduct or performing an act relevant to the practice of the profession that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by Registrants as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional
Penalty
The panel of the Discipline Committee ordered the following penalty. That Jason Taddeo:
- Receive a reprimand at the conclusion of the hearing (delivered on April 22, 2021).
- Serve a suspension for the period of April 23, 2021 through to and including April 22, 2022.
- Complete a review of various College, standards, tools and resources.
- Successfully complete the ProBe program.
- Meet with a practice coach on no more than three occasions.
- The physiotherapist shall not practice as a physiotherapist assistant (PTA) during the period of the served suspended.
The panel also ordered Jason Taddeo to pay costs to the College in the amount of $25,000 to offset some of the costs associated with investigating and prosecuting this case.
As a part of the penalty the Committee issued a reprimand which read as follows:
The panel finds that your behaviour constituted serious misconduct, and this sort of misconduct cannot be tolerated by the profession. The public interest depends on the integrity of the profession. Protecting the integrity of the profession depends on a zero-tolerance of inappropriate business practices. The submission of false statements on several occasions brings into question your honesty, integrity, and professionalism.
We trust that this experience will allow you to reflect on your actions and grow as a therapist. The panel would like to advise you that any further findings of misconduct could result in a more severe outcome than that which has been imposed here today. The panel does not expect to see you before us again.
You can read the full decision of the Discipline Committee of the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario at: www.canlii.ca