Costs are the legal expenses a court may order one party to pay another, and in Ontario civil litigation costs ordinarily follow the event, meaning the unsuccessful party usually pays a portion of the successful party’s costs. The court has broad discretion over the scale and amount, informed by the factors in Rule 57 of the Rules of Civil Procedure and by the parties’ conduct and any offers to settle.
Costs carry particular weight in medical malpractice litigation because the cases are expensive to run, driven by multiple experts and long timelines. A costs award can be substantial, and the risk of an adverse costs order is a real consideration for plaintiffs deciding whether to proceed. Offers to settle under Rule 49 can shift the costs consequences significantly, rewarding a party who beats its own offer at trial.
Posts tagged Costs analyze Ontario decisions on the award of costs in medical malpractice and related litigation.
Justice Williams awards over $1M in costs against the unsuccessful plaintiff in the Lyme disease malpractice trial. The defendant-win costs framework in Ontario.
Three physicians on a multi-disciplinary team failed to obtain informed consent for an elective AVM procedure. The Court of Appeal upheld an $8.5M judgment.
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