An Ontario internist found negligent for delayed intubation and failure to call an intensivist when a young mother’s severe asthma attack turned catastrophic.
After a trial, a Court of King’s Bench judge found that Dr. Sneha Prabha Talukdar had breached the duty of care she owed Mr. Lorencz because she had not referred him to a cardiologist after seeing him twice in the months prior to his heart attack. However, the judge also found that Dr. Talukdar’s negligence had not caused Mr. Lorencz’s death because he was “unable to conclude on a balance of probabilities that Mr. Lorencz would have been able to see the specialist, have the necessary investigations completed, and arrive at the necessary medical opinions [to prevent his death] prior to his cardiac event on January 23, 2005” (Trial Decision at para 114).
A 17-day birth injury trial. Battery, informed consent, five negligence allegations, and causation all addressed and rejected. A multi-ground defence dismissal.
The Court of Appeal affirmed plaintiff causation in a stroke malpractice case, holding that defendants cannot rely on evidentiary gaps their own negligence created.
The Court of Appeal affirmed a $12 million plaintiff verdict for catastrophic maternal brain injury, rejecting the defence theory of amniotic fluid embolism.
A failed obstetric epidural with a fractured needle did not prove substandard technique. The British Columbia court rejected outcome-based reasoning on both grounds.
The Court of Appeal affirmed the dismissal of a medical negligence claim alleging failure to report child protection concerns. The causation chain failed at multiple links.
A delayed Lyme disease claim against two Ontario physicians dismissed on multiple grounds, including the most fundamental: the plaintiff failed to prove he had Lyme disease.
An Ontario orthopaedic surgeon was found liable after removing clavicle hardware six weeks early without revisiting his own documented treatment plan.
A young mother left in a permanent vegetative state after C-section. The court found anesthesiology negligence but accepted that an amniotic fluid embolism was the unavoidable cause.
A pre-term newborn with kernicterus lost her causation case despite a finding that her family physicians had breached the standard of care. The Snell adverse inference did not save the claim.
A surgeon admitted he stopped a colonoscopy without finding the cancer. The trial judge held the death was inevitable but awarded damages for additional suffering.
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