Author: John McKiggan

First Hurdle

The first thing a medical malpractice victim needs to prove in order to win their case is to establish the “standard of care”.

The Supreme Court of Canada stated that:
“A doctor’s behaviour must be assessed in light of the conduct of other ordinary specialists, who possess a reasonable amount of knowledge, competence and skill expected of professionals in Canada, in that field. A specialist such as the respondent, who holds himself out as possessing a special degree of skill and knowledge, must exercise the degree of skill of an average specialist in his field.”
That well known quote from the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Ter Neuzen v. Korn is referred to in every single medical malpractice trial.

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