Hallway medicine is no longer an exception in Ontario emergency departments. When overcrowding contributes to a missed diagnosis, a premature discharge, or a death, the legal question is who is responsible. The short answer: the standard of care doesn’t bend because the system is in crisis.
This was a mid-trial ruling regarding jury questions. This medical malpractice case, brought by David Fedoriuk against two hospital nurses, highlights the ongoing legal debate
This was an appeal from a judgment rendered after a medical malpractice trial. For a summary of the trial decision, please read this post: Tripp
On April 8, 2024, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed the action against two eastern Ontario physicians, Dr. Johnny Brisebois (“Dr. Brisebois”) and Dr. Pablo Romero-Sierra (“Dr. Romero-Sierra”) for alleged medical negligence. The Plaintiff, Frank Papineau, alleged that the physicians negligently failed to diagnose him with Lyme disease and provide him with appropriate treatment.
On April 5, 2024, the Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed the appeal of neurologist Dr. Marshall Zaitlen who had been found negligent at trial before a jury for failing to order further investigations in the face of a deteriorating condition that ultimately led to a delayed diagnosis of a thoracic spinal dural arteriovenous fistula. The patient, Mr. Henry, was left with significant disability as a result.
On January 8, 2024, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed a medical malpractice claim arising from an alleged missed diagnosis of stroke in the emergency room that led to the death of a 27 year-old woman.
On December 1, 2023, a trial judge of the Court of King’s Bench of Manitoba determined that a general surgeon’s admitted negligence in performing a colonoscopy that resulted in a 9 month delay in diagnosing colorectal cancer did not cause the patient’s untimely death.
On August 31, 2023, a motions judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice summarily dismissed a medical malpractice claim wherein the Plaintiff, Mr. Beazley, alleged negligence and delayed diagnosis with respect to Lyme disease. The Plaintiff alleged that as a result of the delayed diagnosis, he suffered injuries and losses.
On August 23, 2023, a trial judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed a medical malpractice lawsuit against an emergency medicine physician and general surgeon for alleged delayed diagnosis of anal cancer that resulted in the Plaintiff requiring an ileostomy.
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