Civil Jury Trial

A civil jury trial is a trial in which a jury, rather than a judge alone, decides the questions of fact and delivers the verdict. In Ontario civil cases either party may serve a jury notice, and medical malpractice defendants have historically done so in many cases, making the civil jury a recurring and strategically significant feature of this area of practice.

Jury trials shape how a medical malpractice case is prepared and presented. The evidence, including complex expert testimony, must be made comprehensible to lay jurors; the trial judge’s charge and the questions put to the jury take on particular importance; and the jury’s verdict is delivered without reasons, which affects the scope for appeal. The availability and conduct of civil juries has also been the subject of ongoing debate and procedural change in Ontario.

Posts tagged Civil Jury Trial analyze Ontario medical malpractice decisions involving juries, including jury selection, the charge, and the treatment of jury verdicts on appeal.