Family medicine encompasses the diagnostic and treatment responsibilities of family physicians and general practitioners in Ontario, who function as the first point of contact for most patients and as the longitudinal coordinators of care across specialists, diagnostic services, and hospitals. Common allegations of negligence in family medicine claims include failure to investigate red-flag symptoms, failure to refer to a specialist when indicated, failure to follow up on abnormal test results, inadequate documentation of clinical reasoning, and failure to recommend appropriate screening.
The standard of care for a family physician is what a reasonable family physician practising in similar circumstances would have done. Ontario courts have repeatedly held that family physicians are not held to the standard of a specialist, but they are expected to recognize when a presentation is beyond their scope and to refer appropriately. The standard is informed by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario’s policies and the practice guidelines of the College of Family Physicians of Canada, although both function as background only: in litigation, the actual standard is proven through expert evidence.
Posts tagged Family Medicine analyze Ontario decisions involving primary care, including missed and delayed diagnoses, referral failures, and the boundary between general practice and specialist responsibility.
Ontario court awards over $1 million to nurse with chronic shoulder injury from improper tetanus injection by family medicine resident at SOC trial.
Ontario Superior Court dismisses post-operative osteomyelitis claim. The hospitalist standard of care, patient-declined treatment, and the pre-existing infection defence.
Justice Williams awards over $1M in costs against the unsuccessful plaintiff in the Lyme disease malpractice trial. The defendant-win costs framework in Ontario.
The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal affirms dismissal of a failure-to-refer claim. Breach of standard of care, but causation defeated by referral wait times.
A settlement on behalf of a woman in her 60s whose family physician dismissed three years of GI symptoms despite a known family history of colon cancer.
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.
A family physician suspended for 12 months after charging patients for Accessible Parking Permit applications and certifying eligibility his charts did not support.
A family physician identified a high-risk twin pregnancy and started a referral letter that was never sent. The Alberta Court of King’s Bench found liability.
Paul Cahill settled a wrongful death claim against a family physician who failed to provide the HCC surveillance that hepatitis B carriers require.
Paul Cahill settled a medical malpractice claim involving permanent vestibular damage from unmonitored outpatient gentamicin therapy.
Free, confidential consultations. Paul reviews every potential case personally and tells you honestly whether it merits investigation.