Loss of chance is a causation theory under which a plaintiff seeks compensation not for an injury that the defendant’s negligence is proven to have caused, but for the reduced probability of a better outcome that the negligence brought about. It arises most often in delayed cancer diagnosis cases, where earlier diagnosis might have improved the odds of survival or cure without making either certain.
Canadian law has been cautious about loss of chance in the medical context. The prevailing approach requires the plaintiff to prove, on a balance of probabilities, that the negligence caused the adverse outcome itself, rather than allowing recovery for a lost statistical chance that falls below fifty percent. This makes loss of chance arguments difficult to sustain in Ontario, and the line between a provable causal injury and an unrecoverable lost chance is frequently the central battleground in delayed diagnosis litigation.
Posts tagged Loss of Chance analyze how Ontario and other Canadian courts have treated loss of chance arguments, particularly in oncology and delayed diagnosis fact patterns where the timing of diagnosis affected prognosis.
Manitoba Court of Appeal affirms dismissal of delayed colon cancer diagnosis claim. The Benhaim framework on adverse inferences and statistical evidence in causation.
A delayed cancer diagnosis can be the difference between life and death. A patient’s guide to the common causes and what it takes to prove a claim in Ontario.
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