On January 2, 2025, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed a medical malpractice action brought by a plaintiff who received treatment at Bridgepoint Health in Toronto following a motorcycle accident and surgery undertaken at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto in 2012.
The plaintiff Scott Graham experienced a serious motorcycle accident on July 1, 2012, resulting in open fractures of the left tibia, a fractured right forearm, and a burst fracture of the T12 vertebra. Initial treatment included an urgent operation performed by Dr. Aaron Nauth at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, after which Mr. Graham developed fever and was identified to have a bloodstream infection.
Mr. Graham was then transferred to Bridgepoint Hospital under the care of Dr. Sheldon Berger for orthopedic rehabilitation. Numerous checkups and treatments were provided throughout his stay, including continuous monitoring of an emerging lump over the surgical wound on his tibia.
Despite resolving somewhat with application of warm compresses, the lump was eventually diagnosed as an infection by a visiting orthopedic surgeon from St. Michael’s Hospital. Mr. Graham was transferred back to St. Michael’s Hospital, where Dr. Nauth recommended surgical irrigation and debridement, which Mr. Graham initially declined, and opted for local irrigation at bedside.
Upon returning to Bridgepoint, Mr. Graham’s treatment continued as per Dr. Nauth’s orders. A piece of blue suture was found and safely removed from his wound. Later, his antibiotics were switched to Ampicillin due to sensitivity of the identified infection.
Despite Dr. Nauth’s repeated recommendations for surgical intervention, Mr. Graham declined until finally accepting after a second opinion. Following surgery, he stayed on IV and oral antibiotics over several months. Mr. Graham ultimately recovered at home, with his tibial fracture healing completely. He returned to his work as a Crown Attorney in January 2013, and gradually resumed his military duties.
All other defendants had been released prior to the trial of the action leaving Dr. Berger as the sole defendant. All issues were in dispute in this trial: standard of care, causation and damages.
Dr. Zain Chagla was qualified to provide opinion evidence on the issues of standard of care and causation. Dr. Zain Chagla is an infectious diseases and internal medicine physician. He is interim Senior Medical Director, Head of Service of Infectious Diseases and Medical Director of Infection Control at St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton, a fully affiliated teaching hospital, a quaternary care centre and an academic hospital with the support of residents. He also holds privileges with Hamilton Health Sciences and Woodstock Hospital.
Dr. Mark Krieger was qualified to provide opinion evidence on the issue of standard of care. Dr. Krieger is a retired family physician who practised for over 40 years as a hospitalist at West Park Healthcare Centre in Toronto, a rehabilitation hospital like Bridgepoint. He was qualified as a specialist in family medicine and as a hospitalist to give opinion evidence.
Dr. Andrew Simor was qualified as an infectious diseases specialist to give opinion evidence on the likely cause of the plaintiff’s osteomyelitis (bone infection) and its expected course of treatment. He is an infectious diseases specialist and senior scientist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, where he has worked since 1993.
Dr. Berger was found not negligent due to several key reasons.
Causation was equally not established for the following reasons.
For the above reasons, the case was dismissed.
Decision Date: January 2, 2025
Jurisdiction: Ontario Superior Court of Justice
Citation: Graham et al. v. Bridgepoint Health et al., 2025 CanLII 380 (ON SC)
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