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Medical Malpractice
We trust medical practitioners with what is most precious to us: our health, our lives, and the health and lives of our loved ones. When a medical provider breaches the standard of care and causes injury or death due to negligence, that trust is broken.
In this event, if you believe you have been injured by medical malpractice, the team at Gluckstein medical malpractice lawyers can help. Our experienced, knowledgeable, and caring medical litigation lawyers have a solid record of assisting patients injured by medical malpractice as they seek compensation for the losses they have suffered.
We handle cases involving birth trauma, brain injury, spinal cord injury, or any other adverse medical outcome that leads to significant disability and/or financial losses.
With medical malpractice lawyers in Toronto, Ottawa, Niagara, Barrie, Collingwood and Midland, Gluckstein Personal Injury Lawyers are available to help you with your medical malpractice claim.
How can our medical malpractice lawyers help you?
Providing full-circle client care in a difficult time.
After experiencing a life-altering injury from medical malpractice, you or your loved one may be feeling scared, angry, depressed and overwhelmed. As a law firm known for its years of experience and for its full-circle client-centred care, Gluckstein Personal Injury Lawyers can be counted on to treat you and your loved ones with the respect, kindness and empathetic understanding you deserve.
As you begin your journey of healing, trust Gluckstein Personal Injury Lawyers’ team of medical negligence lawyers to join you. We can help you get the compensation and damages you are owed for your pain, suffering and losses. Nothing can ever replace all that a personal medical injury takes from you; but receiving an award for damages can change your life for the better. When we can negotiate a settlement or win a court-ordered award for you, it can help bring closure to one tumultuous chapter of your life and give you what you need to ensure there are brighter times ahead.
Loss caused by a negligent breach of the standard of care.
Doctors, nurses, technicians and other medical providers are professionals who are required to have a certain level of training and skill to perform their duties. They are held to high standards, but not to perfection. Mistakes or adverse events can happen even if reasonable precautions and care are taken.
For a claim to be successful, you must establish both that there was a breach of a standard of care and that the breach caused your damages. It sounds simple, but it is definitely not.
Pursuing your medical malpractice claim.
Medical malpractice claims are often complex and can be challenging to pursue. The people who have made the error are also most often responsible for creating documentation that would help you prove there was an error. For example, if you were under anaesthesia during a surgical procedure, you would not be witness to any surgical errors; you will only become aware that something went wrong later. Piecing together what may have happened can be difficult when the people who made the mistake have an interest in not drawing attention to the matter.
By choosing experienced malpractice litigation lawyers with a proven track record as your advocate, you can have confidence your file will be in skillful hands. As a firm that focuses on these matters, Gluckstein Personal Injury Lawyers has built an extensive network of independent medical experts that can be critical to building a successful case.
In many circumstances, medical malpractice cases need to be started quickly. There is a two-year limitation period for suing a medical practitioner or hospital. That limitation period begins from the date you knew or ought to have known of facts giving rise to a claim. For medical negligence that results in death, the two-year limitation period runs from the date of death. The limitation period may be longer for people under disability and children under 18 years of age.
As soon as you suspect that substandard medical treatment may be the cause of your injury or poor health, you should contact a medical malpractice lawyer near you with experience in medical negligence to begin discussions about how to proceed and if, and when, you should file notice of a claim.
Experienced representation for medical malpractice claims.
Since 1962, our firm has represented thousands of injured people, advocating for their interests, assisting with access to needed therapies, and obtaining the compensation they deserve. Led by a lawyer with more than 30 years of medical malpractice case experience, our medical malpractice team handles claims dealing with:
- Birth trauma (brachial plexus injuries, paralysis, cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, meconium aspiration syndrome, Horner’s syndrome, hypoxia, seizures, shoulder dystocia, neonatal sepsis, maternal infections).
- Hospital and medical administration errors (unsafe or unclean environments, malfunctioning diagnostic tools, inaccurate record-keeping).
- Surgical errors (surgery on the wrong body part, wrong patient, anaesthesia errors, foreign objects left in patient, nerve damage, perforation or laceration during surgery).
- Nursing errors (medication errors - wrong medication, wrong dose, wrong patient, wrong time to administer, wrong route for medicine; injuries from moving patients too quickly; documentation errors; failure to monitor a patient or respond in a timely manner).
- Chiropractic errors (over aggressive manipulation, disc herniation, spinal cord injuries, nerve damage, paralysis, bone fractures, stroke).
- Misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis (wrongly diagnosing a condition based on negligence or unreasonably delayed diagnosis that causes harm or leads to a worsening condition).
- Lack of informed consent (failure to properly warn of adverse side effects or of risks involved with treatment).
- Midwife negligence (birth injuries, failure to call for medical assistance during difficult or abnormal births).
The Gluckstein medical malpractice team not only includes lawyers with the right skillset for these challenging cases, but also former medical practitioners and staff who bring an intimate knowledge of the medical system.
Moreover, some members of our team have had their own personal experience with medical malpractice and have a special understanding of what you and your loved ones are going through. For example, Brenda Agnew is a former Gluckstein client who now works as one of our client liaisons.
Brenda’s son Maclain developed severe Cerebral Palsy and hearing loss as a result of a birth injury. In her Brenda’s Corner blog, Brenda writes about her family’s own experience making a medical malpractice claim and how they have fostered connections within the disabled community to advocate for positive change. Our diversity is our strength as we have your case covered from many different angles.
Your medical malpractice case is in good hands.
With our extensive trial experience, excellent negotiating skills, and thorough knowledge of the medical practitioner insurance claims process, the Gluckstein medical malpractice team is ready to develop and manage your case every step of the way.
Our goal is to give you confidence and peace of mind as your case moves through the system so that you can focus on what’s important to you: recovery, rehabilitation, and rebuilding your life after a tragic injury.
Gluckstein Personal Injury Lawyers medical malpractice team combines excellence in legal representation and advocacy with the empathy and compassion you deserve during this difficult time in your life. Begin your journey to a more promising future by contacting us today.
Contact us. Your initial consultation is free with no obligation.
But what if you are unsure that your injuries were the result of medical malpractice? When you contact our medical malpractice lawyers for an initial consultation, we will explain your various options.
Your initial consultation with us is free and there is no obligation to continue. If you decide to pursue a claim through our medical malpractice lawyers, we will compile the pertinent details of your case, request the appropriate medical files, and begin a preliminary investigation. If we discover that your claim has merit and are reasonably sure that we can assist you in negotiating a fair settlement or winning a judgment at trial, we will agree to represent you based on a contingency fee agreement.
That means that we don’t get paid unless you get paid by way of a settlement or court award.
Related Expertise.
FAQs.
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What happens if a doctor makes the wrong diagnosis?
Doctors are not held to a standard of perfection. If, based on proper standards of care, they reasonably come to a wrong diagnosis it is not considered medical malpractice. If a doctor breached the standards of care due to negligence and they wrongly diagnosis a patient and cause harm to that patient, they may be found to committed medical malpractice. -
Which type of problems occur when a diagnosis wrong or delayed?
Some medical conditions can be fully treated and cured. In other cases, symptoms of an underlying problem can be treated to improve a patient's prognosis, outcome, or quality of life. When a patient is misdiagnosed and treated for a condition they do not have or a diagnosis is missed, they lose valuable time to treat their illness and they may suffer needlessly. -
What’s the difference between a misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis?
When a doctor incorrectly diagnosed a patient with a medical condition, it is called a misdiagnosis. If the doctor does not recognize how a patient's symptoms would indicate a medical condition in a timely manner, it is called delayed diagnosis. Both misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis can be medical malpractice depending on the patient's unique circumstances. -
What are the five most common types of medical malpractice?
Medical malpractice cases usually deal with:
- Misdiagnosis;
- Surgical errors;
- Failure to treat a condition properly;
- Birth injuries; and
- Prescription medication errors.
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What are some accidents that commonly lead to unexpected deaths?
Some common accidents that lead to unexpected deaths are:
- Car accidents;
- Motorcycle collisions;
- Truck crashes;
- Unsafe work environments;
- Medical malpractice;
- Bicycle crashes;
- Defective product injuries.
- Car accidents;
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How long should I expect my medical malpractice case to take to resolve?
The particular circumstances behind the medical malpractice injury will often determine how long a case will take. When liability is clear and the extent of the injuries is well known and unlikely to change, sometimes settlements are reached prior to launching a claim. In many cases, however, it can take about five years to reach a settlement and an average of seven years for a court decision. Some decisions also go on to appeal. While this time frame may be disappointing, it often takes time to adequately determine the extent of injuries and build a strong case that encourages a settlement you deserve or favourable court judgment.
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Why choose a medical malpractice lawyer from Gluckstein Personal Injury Lawyers?
Our medical malpractice team has a nation-wide reputation for excellence and is frequently consulted to act in cases across Ontario and Canada. Our team includes lawyers with over three decades of experience, who are recognized as leaders in this field.by their peers.
Our group has investigated and handled thousands of medical malpractice cases involving surgical error, misdiagnosis, medication errors, delayed treatment, and improper treatment. We handle every kind of medical malpractice claim that might arise from substandard medical care. In particular, we pride ourselves on our extensive experience in cases involving injury to children occurring at or around the time of birth (i.e., birth trauma cases). -
How do the medical malpractice lawyers at Gluckstein Personal Injury Law help establish negligence in a medical malpractice case?
Doctors must adhere to a medically accepted standard of care that is reasonably expected of all healthcare professionals. This prevents legal claims in cases where a physician acted reasonably to diagnose or treat an illness or injury to the best of their ability.
To prevail in a medical negligence claim, an injured or sick patient must prove that their physician’s or surgeon’s failure to meet the standard of care directly caused their medical injuries. An experienced medical malpractice lawyer at Gluckstein Personal Injury Lawyers can review a claim for medical malpractice with the assistance of medical experts and gather evidence of instances of actionable negligence. -
How do I know if I have a medical malpractice case with merit?
The first thing every client needs to know is whether there is merit to their case. Not all adverse medical outcomes are due to medical error or negligence. Our team of lawyers carefully and painstakingly evaluates every medical malpractice case we take on through a detailed review of the issues and records. A consultation with some of the most qualified medical experts in both Canada and the United States often follows based on what is discovered.
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What is a limitation period and how will it affect my medical malpractice action?
Generally you have two years from the date you knew or 'ought to have known' that you were injured by medical malpractice. In some cases it's very clear when an injury occurred. In other cases you may only learn about the extent of your injury or what caused it months or even years after the negligent action or inaction that caused you harm. After any poor medical outcome, it is worth contacting a medical malpractice lawyer to understand your rights and whether you should ask for a second opinion.
For children who are injured, the two year limitation period only begins after they turn 18 unless a parent or guardian signs an “Affidavit of Litigation Guardian”. The limitation does not apply to a person without the capacity to make a claim, unless they have a litigation guardian.
Finally, with the exception of minors or people without the capacity to make a claim, 15 years after the date of the medical error or act of omission no claim can be filed, even if you only became aware of the medical medical after that period.
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What is medical malpractice law?
Medical malpractice law is the area of law dealing with the negligent professional conduct of health care providers including doctors, nurses, hospitals, dentists, etc. If you, or someone you know, was injured or killed as a result of medical treatment, you may have a claim for medical malpractice. -
What is medical malpractice?
Medical malpractice law is the area of law dealing with the negligent professional conduct of health care providers including doctors, nurses, hospitals, dentists, etc. If you, or someone you know, was injured or killed as a result of medical treatment, you may have a claim for medical malpractice.
Testimonials.
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Annie Liu
"We are so very lucky to have met this team! We sincerely recommend Jane Lou and Gluckstein Lawyers!"
Case Studies.
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Endean v. St. Joseph's General Hospital, 2019 ONCA 181 (CanLII)
This was a group appeal on the issue of joint and several liability arising from four plaintiff dental malpractice actions. Justice Zarnett, in writing for the Court of Appeal, found that the trial ju...Read More -
Rawsthorne v Marotta et al, 2017 ONSC 2182 (CanLII)
The plaintiff was implanted with the medical device in 1992, and subsequently had the device explanted in January 1994. Litigation was commenced against the defendant doctor and hospital in 2001. The ...Read More
Team.
Blog & News.
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Mental Health and Matters of Life and Death: Concerns About Expanded Eligibility for MAID
Few social policy decisions have elicited as much impassioned debate as Canada’s 2016 Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) legislation. Proponents of the law lauded it for permitting a person to exercis...Read More -
What is Informed Consent and Why is it Important for Patients?
Informed consent means that patients are entitled to understand treatment options, risks and benefits so that they can make informed and voluntary decisions. Canadian law firmly recognizes a person’s ...Read More -
Gluckstein Lawyers is Proud to Welcome James Newland and Brian Moher
Industry leading personal injury law firmGluckstein Lawyers continues in its drive to become an industry leader in the field of catastrophic injury and medical malpractice and are proud to welcome sen...Read More -
Our New Website Positions Gluckstein Lawyers as a ‘Thought Leader and an Information Provider’
Websites have proven their worth as a means to establish an online presence. They are the virtual storefronts of a business enterprise with the chief aim of converting visitors to consumers. A website...Read More -
A Duty of Care to a Non-Existent Person?
Proving that a doctor owes a duty of care to their patient is a fundamental part of a medical malpractice case. Where there is no duty of care, there can be no liability for damages.Establishing that ...Read More -
Learning About and Living With Cerebral Palsy
The human brain is a marvel of complexity. Consisting of 100 billion neurons, each of them connected to 10,000 others, it has been described as the most complicated object in the known universe.[i] A...Read More
Events.
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Upcoming
Risky Business - 2022
Risky Business is a CPD-accredited Medical Malpractice Conference designed to educate those who may wish to learn about the complex nature of medical negligence lawsuits.Read More
Podcasts & Videos.
Guides & Papers.
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Paper
Causation on trial - a call for change in how we think about causation in tort
To say that an event is the cause of an effect sounds simple enough. It can be simple, but often it is not. An event, on its own, may not be enough to bring about an effect, and may need to follow or ...Read More
Tell us about your accident or injury. We can help.
At Gluckstein Personal Injury Lawyers, the initial meeting is free and without obligation on your part – and we never charge you legal fees until your claim is settled.