Standard of care is the legal benchmark for the conduct expected of physicians, nurses, and other regulated health professionals in Ontario. It is the first of the three elements a plaintiff must prove in a medical malpractice claim, and it is almost always proven or defended through the evidence of qualified medical experts.
Posts tagged Standard of Care analyze how Ontario courts have applied the test in specific cases, how expert evidence is used to define what a reasonable practitioner would have done in the circumstances, and where the standard is contested between specialties. The library covers obstetrical, emergency, surgical, anesthetic, and primary care decisions, along with appellate rulings that shape how trial courts approach the question.
For patients considering a claim, these case comments offer a sense of what Ontario courts have treated as a departure from the standard of care and what they have not.
A settlement involving a 65-year-old man whose ankle fracture went 40 days without orthopedic follow-up, leading to joint infection and below-knee amputation.
Where literature, medicine, and the law intersect at a medical malpractice trial in Ontario. From a 2022 OTLA medical malpractice conference panel.
Paul as guest on Justice in Pieces, the legal education YouTube series with John-Paul Rodrigues. On the realities of plaintiff-side medical malpractice practice.
Why screening medical malpractice cases matters at intake, and what to recommend patients when civil litigation is not economical. From a 2021 CLE panel.
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.
How Ontario judges gatekeep expert opinion evidence, and what plaintiff counsel can do to clear that bar. From a 2021 MLST panel.
Paul Cahill won a trial verdict in Hacopian-Armen v Mahmoud where Justice Brown found a gynecologist negligently failed to biopsy and missed a curable cancer.
St. Catharines Standard coverage of the Court of Appeal’s July 2020 affirmance of the Woods v Jackiewicz jury verdict. Bill Sawchuk interviews Paul Cahill.
Three episodes on the Inside Medical Malpractice podcast with Chris Rokosh. Paul on the trials of Hacopian, O’Neill-Renouf, and Woods v Jackiewicz.
Expert evidence, defence resourcing, and high-risk ER scenarios shape Ontario medical malpractice cases. From OTLA’s 2020 medical malpractice conference.
Paul Cahill won a trial verdict in O’Neill-Renouf v Ibrahim where Justice Baltman found a urologist negligently injured the obturator nerve during a TVT procedure.
St. Catharines Standard coverage of the April 2019 jury verdict in Woods v Jackiewicz, an $11.5 million obstetric negligence verdict for cerebral palsy.
Free, confidential consultations. Paul reviews every potential case personally and tells you honestly whether it merits investigation.