Category: Brain Injuries

You Can File a Complaint About Your Doctor!

by John McKiggan

I get several calls a week from patients, of family members of patients, who are concerned about the care that they, or their family member, have received from their doctor or hospital.

In most cases, a careful investigation of the facts reveals that there are no grounds for a medical malpractice claim (in other words, the doctor or hospital wasn’t negligent) or that there may have been negligence in the patient’s care, but the cost of filing a lawsuit would be more than the potential recovery.

Explaining these facts to my clients is one of the more frustrating aspects of being a medical malpractice lawyer. I hate telling patients that I believe there was negligence in the care they received but that I don’t think they should pursue a compensation claim.

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Posted in: Anaesthesia Errors, Birth Injuries, Brain Injuries, Disclosure of Errors, Drug Injuries, Emergency Room Errors, Informed Consent, Medical Malpractice, Prescription Errors, Surgical Errors, Uncategorized

Medical Malpractice Claim Over Birth Injuries Dismissed

by John McKiggan

An obstetrician’s failure to obtain informed consent was not the legal cause of an infant’s brain damage, according to a decision from Ontario.

The Ontario Court of Appeal just released a ruling upholding a trial decision dismissing a claim of obstetric malpractice.

In Cruz v. Robins the trial judge held that the use of forceps during the infant plaintiff’s delivery caused the baby’s brachial plexis injury and brain damage. The judge found that the parents, Mr. and Mrs. Cruz should have been consulted and should have been informed of the option of a caesarean section and its risks. Further, he found that they should have been advised of the risks involved in proceeding with a mid-forceps delivery. Nevertheless, the trial judge concluded that had the appellants been advised and given the choice, the same result would have occurred.

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Posted in: Birth Injuries, Brain Injuries, Medical Malpractice, Uncategorized