The Court of Appeal for Ontario is the province’s highest court and the final domestic appellate court for most Ontario medical malpractice decisions, given the rarity of leave being granted to the Supreme Court of Canada. The Court of Appeal hears appeals from final orders of the Superior Court of Justice (other than family law matters) and from select decisions of the Divisional Court.
In medical malpractice litigation, the Court of Appeal’s role is doubly important. Its decisions are binding on every trial-level judge in Ontario, and its analysis of standard of care, causation, expert evidence, and damages frames how the trial bench approaches these issues. Recent decisions have refined the application of the Clements v Clements causation framework, addressed the limits of permissible expert opinion under White Burgess Langille Inman v Abbott and Haliburton Co, and continued the appellate court’s long line of decisions on the Reibl v Hughes informed consent test.
Posts tagged Court of Appeal for Ontario analyze the court’s medical malpractice decisions and what they mean for trial practice in this province.
A young man developed paraplegia from an undiagnosed spinal dural fistula his neurologist failed to investigate. A jury awarded $1.5M; the Court of Appeal affirmed.
The Court of Appeal ordered a new trial after a trial judge discharged the jury on her own motion and dismissed the malpractice claim with reasons 90% copied from the defence.
The Court of Appeal for Ontario affirmed a malpractice trial loss but observed that the trial reasons had not treated the appellants’ claim with appropriate dignity.
The Ontario Court of Appeal upheld Paul Cahill’s trial verdict in Hacopian-Armen Estate v Mahmoud, clarifying the foreseeability test in delayed cancer cases.
Free, confidential consultations. Paul reviews every potential case personally and tells you honestly whether it merits investigation.