"While the apology is a nice initial first step, there's a huge amount of harm that's been done. ... Every mistake, every case blows apart families. You have the wrongly convicted, you have wrongly charged, you have family members who don't talk to each other, they don't heal, they don't come back together again," Michael Lomer told reporters yesterday, the first day of public hearings at the Inquiry into Forensic Pediatric Pathology in Ontario.

"I sort of suspect it's cold comfort late in the game," added the lawyer for Marco Trotta. Last week, Trotta and his wife Anisa were granted a new trial by the Supreme Court of Canada because of questionable findings by Smith in the investigation of the 1993 death of son Paulo.

The apology was Smith's first public statement since an investigation by the provincial coroner's office five months ago indicated he erred in 20 cases. The commission will examine 18, of which eight are described elsewhere on this page.

A publication ban was issued on the other 10 that will be lifted as each case comes before the inquiry.

Trotta, 38, has served nine years of a life sentence after his conviction for second-degree murder and assault. He had pleaded not guilty.

His wife, Anisa, 33, completed a five-year sentence on convictions for criminal negligence and failing to provide the necessities of life. She was acquitted at their joint trial on a manslaughter charge.

Through his own lawyer yesterday, Smith apologized for making a "number of mistakes," but did not specify to which cases he was referring. "Dr. Smith sincerely regrets these mistakes and apologizes to all who may have been affected by his errors," Niels Ortved said in opening remarks to the inquiry.

Smith was not present and is not scheduled to testify until January.

Noting that his client "is truly sorry" for his mistakes, Ortved said there was no malice behind them. "At all times, Dr. Smith endeavoured to use whatever knowledge and expertise he possessed to render accurate pathologic opinions."

In 12 of the 20 Smith cases red-flagged by the province, parents and relatives were criminally convicted for the deaths of children. In one case, an individual was found not criminally responsible. And in the rest, parents and relatives were considered suspects and some were charged, but not convicted.

One person has since been acquitted after spending 12 years in jail, while some others are seeking vindication through the courts.

William Mullins-Johnson was wrongly convicted in 1994 of murdering his niece, Valin, 4, partly on the basis of Smith's testimony.

Asked what he thought of yesterday's apology, Mullins-Johnson replied: "Not much at all."

"I don't put much stock in it," Mullins-Johnson, who spent 12 years in prison, said in an interview last night. "First of all, he didn't have the guts to do it himself."

In terms of content, it also seemed deficient, he said. "To say he just made mistakes? C'mon. It seemed more like a forced apology than genuine," Mullins-Johnson said.

Maurice Gagnon had much the same reaction. His daughter, Lianne Thibeault, became a murder suspect in 1995 after Smith began probing the sudden death of her infant son, Nicolas. What Smith labelled as suspicious marks around the child's jaw line was actually normal post-mortem pooling of blood.

"For one thing, it wasn't Smith who apologized, it was the lawyers," Gagnon said in an interview from Sudbury, where he resides. "These lawyers representing Smith are also representing the (doctor's) insurance company that is going to get bombarded with lawsuits (from affected families)."

One of the cases involved Brenda Waudby, who was charged with the 1997 murder of her 21-month-old daughter. Smith worked on the investigation and his opinion contributed to the charge being laid. But two years later, the charge was withdrawn after five experts took issues with his findings. The child's 14-year-old babysitter was subsequently convicted of manslaughter.

Waudby was the only individual touched by Smith's errors to show up on the first day of hearings. She declined to talk to reporters.

Justice Stephen Goudge, who heads the inquiry, pointed out that it is not a civil or criminal trial, but intended to help formulate recommendations to improve the system.

Among the cases to be examined by the inquiry:

Sharon Reynolds, 7, of Kingston. Her mother, Louise, was charged with killing the girl in 1997 and spent almost two years behind bars. Smith had concluded the child had been stabbed to death, but the charges were withdrawn after other pathologists determined she had been attacked by a pit bull.

Joshua Sherrett-Robinson, 4 months, of Trenton, found dead in his playpen in 1996. His mother, Sherry Sherrett, was charged with infanticide and spent six months behind bars. Another pathologist found Joshua died of natural causes. After Sherrett was charged, another child was taken from her.

Athena Kporwodu, 3 months, of Toronto, who died in 1998 after sustaining 35 rib fractures, a torn liver and bruises to the head. Her parents, Anthony Kporwodu and Angela Veno, were charged with the child's death. But the Ontario Court of Appeal threw out charges in 1995 on grounds of excessive delay.

Tyrell Salmon, 3, of Toronto, who died in 1998. His stepmother, Maureen Laidley, was charged with murder based on Smith's opinion. But the charge was stayed on eve of trial in 2001 after three pathologists concluded the injury was likely caused by falling.