Medical Malpractice in Ontario: Understanding Your Rights

What Is Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice (also called medical negligence) occurs when a healthcare provider — a doctor, nurse, surgeon, dentist, pharmacist, or hospital — fails to meet the standard of care expected of a reasonably competent practitioner in their field, and this failure causes injury or harm to the patient. Not every bad medical outcome is malpractice. Medicine is inherently uncertain and outcomes cannot be guaranteed.

Common Examples of Medical Malpractice

• Failure to diagnose (missing a cancer, infection, or other condition a competent doctor should have identified)
• Delayed diagnosis
• Surgical errors (wrong-site surgery, retained instruments, perforation of adjacent organs)
• Medication errors (wrong drug, wrong dosage, harmful drug interactions not flagged)
• Failure to obtain informed consent (proceeding with treatment without adequately explaining the risks)
• Birth injuries due to improper management of labour and delivery

The Standard of Care

The legal standard in Ontario is the care expected of a reasonably competent practitioner in the same specialty, in the same circumstances. Proving this standard requires expert medical opinion evidence — a qualified physician in the relevant specialty who is prepared to testify that the defendant deviated from the standard of care.

Limitation Periods

In Ontario, the general limitation period for medical malpractice claims is two years from the date you discovered (or ought reasonably to have discovered) that the negligence occurred and caused you injury. There is also an ultimate limitation period of 15 years from the date the act or omission occurred. Limitation periods in medical malpractice cases can be complex — particularly where injuries take time to manifest. Consult a lawyer promptly.

The Complexity of Medical Malpractice Claims

Medical malpractice litigation in Ontario is among the most complex and expensive areas of personal injury law. It requires expert evidence, involves reviewing extensive medical records, and typically takes several years to resolve. Most medical malpractice lawyers work on contingency fees.