Birth injury claims involve harm to the infant, the mother, or both during labour, delivery, or the immediate post-partum period. Common allegations include failure to recognize fetal distress on electronic fetal monitoring, delay in proceeding to caesarean section, improper use of forceps or vacuum, failure to manage shoulder dystocia, mismanagement of pre-eclampsia or eclampsia, and failure to identify or respond to obstetric emergencies such as amniotic fluid embolism or uterine rupture.
Birth injury cases are among the most complex and the most heavily contested medical malpractice matters in Ontario. The injuries are often catastrophic, the damages large, and the standard-of-care analysis involves multiple specialties, including obstetrics, midwifery, anesthesia, neonatology, and nursing. Causation in cases involving hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and cerebral palsy is particularly contested, given the medical literature on the multiple non-negligent causes of neonatal brain injury.
The limitation analysis for birth injury claims differs from most medical malpractice cases, because the injured infant is a minor and the limitation period is postponed until they reach age 18 unless a litigation guardian acts earlier.
Posts tagged Birth Injury analyze Ontario decisions involving labour, delivery, and neonatal outcomes.
An Alberta court found that an urgent C-section taking 101 minutes fell below the standard of care, that two physicians’ combined 50 minutes of unnecessary delay was not a defensible judgment call, and that the delay caused a child’s cerebral palsy. A look at the timeliness standard, the causation reasoning, and why this Alberta decision is persuasive, not binding, in Ontario.
Dr. Bailey admitted that her management of labour was negligent and that it caused a hypoxic brain injury at birth. The plaintiffs still lost, because they could not prove that the brain injury caused the child’s lasting impairments. JB v Bailey is an Alberta decision, persuasive only in Ontario, but it is a clear reminder that admitted negligence and admitted injury are not the same as proven causation.
Ontario Court of Appeal affirms reduction of contingency fee from $4.1 million to $3.25 million in $14 million birth injury settlement involving vulnerable client.
A patient’s guide to midwifery malpractice in Ontario. Scope of practice, consultation duties, the liability framework, and the most common claim categories.
A 17-day birth injury trial. Battery, informed consent, five negligence allegations, and causation all addressed and rejected. A multi-ground defence dismissal.
A defence motion to strike a jury notice was dismissed in a complex BC birth injury case involving 31 expert reports and 35 anticipated witnesses.
A BC trial judge found an obstetrician 85% liable and obstetrical nurses 15% liable for skull fractures and brain damage caused during a difficult caesarean section.
A trial judge found an obstetrician applied excessive traction during a shoulder dystocia, causing a permanent brachial plexus injury. Liability was established.
A family physician identified a high-risk twin pregnancy and started a referral letter that was never sent. The Alberta Court of King’s Bench found liability.
A jury verdict of $11.5 million for cerebral palsy, upheld at the Court of Appeal, following a community obstetrician’s failure to recognize and refer twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome.
St. Catharines Standard coverage of the Court of Appeal’s July 2020 affirmance of the Woods v Jackiewicz jury verdict. Bill Sawchuk interviews Paul Cahill.
St. Catharines Standard coverage of the April 2019 jury verdict in Woods v Jackiewicz, an $11.5 million obstetric negligence verdict for cerebral palsy.
Free, confidential consultations. Paul reviews every potential case personally and tells you honestly whether it merits investigation.