Mistakes May Not Be Negligence
The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that a doctor’s “error in judgment” was not evidence of negligence.
Roger Lawrence was admitted to the Welland Hospital as a result of severe stomach pains. The physician treating him concluded that he was suffering from gallbladder colic. The following day the surgeon performed a laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
Nurse Negligent
In a decision released last week, Justice Tausendfreund has ruled that a nurse at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital was negligent and that the nurse’s negligence caused catastrophic brain injuries to a baby, Danny Vuong.
Danny’s mother, Ms. Giang was admitted to St. Joseph’s Hospital on June 12, 2991. Her pregnancy had been normal and uneventful.
Apologizing Reduces Mistakes
A study performed at Montreal’s Jewish General Hospital has found that apologizing for mistakes may actually help reduce the incidents of mistakes.
Full Disclosure
Nurses Duty to Ensure Appropriate Care
A recent decision from Ontario has found that nurses have a duty to ensure patients receive appropriate care from a responsible physician when faced with a medical emergency.
The court found that the duty to ensure that the patient is seen by a appropriate physician exists even when the patient has already been seen by a resident physician.
One of the reasons why medical malpractice claims are so complicated, and so expensive, is because they require the testimony of medical experts, usually several medical experts to testify about both legal issues such as:
1. The standard of care;
2. Whether there was a breach of the standard of care;
3. Whether the breach resulted in the patient’s injuries;
4. What is the nature of the plaintiff’s injuries?
My book, The Consumer’s Guide to Medical Malpractice Claims in Canada, discusses the use of medical experts in medical malpractice claims and goes into detail to explain why you cannot win a medical malpractice case without solid medical experts on your side.
Court Approves Multi-Million Dollar Settlement
The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia has approved a settlement in a medical malpractice case awarding 4.5 million dollars in compensation to a child who suffered cerebral palsy as a result of injuries suffered during his birth.
Very Complex Claim
Continuing Treatment
Continuing treatment is a term that lawyers use to describe the length of time that you have continued to receive treatment from your doctor. In many cases, after a patient receives negligent treatment that causes an injury they continue to see their doctor or be treated in the hospital for the effects of the negligence medical care. Why is this important?
Statute of Limitations
ACOG Issues New Practice Guidelines
In the July 2009 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) issued practice bulletin No. 106: Intrapartum Fetal Heart Rate Monitoring.
The new bulletin is the most recent statement from the College on interpretation of fetal heart rate tracings and management of labour.
Almost 100,000 Medical Mistakes Each Year in Canada
The Canadian Medical Association has determined that over 87,000 patients in Canada suffer an adverse event (medical error or mistake) each year.
The same study determined that more than 24,000 people die each year due to medical errors.
Why Did You Write The Book?
I get asked that a lot. There’s a ton of work that goes into writing a book about medical malpractice claims. Most books about the topic are written by lawyers, for lawyers, and they are pretty dry reading.
I wanted to write a book that the average person could pick up and read and come away better educated and informed about the medical malpractice claims process and what is involved in filing a medical malpractice claim.
