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Medical Malpractice

In Canada, the standards for medical practitioners are high, but those standards are not always met. The failure of a medical practitioner to meet the standards expected of a normal, prudent practitioner of his or her special group is often called “medical malpractice”.

Consequences of Medical Malpractice

As a result of medical malpractice, a patient may be severely or even fatally injured. Usually, a civil action is the only means for the patient (or the patient’s dependents or estate) to recover compensation for the damages suffered as a result of the injury or death resulting from malpractice. A civil action to recover damages suffered as a result of malpractice is often called a malpractice action.

Legal Recourse for Medical Malpractice Victims

In civil actions, the person who sues is called the plaintiff and the person who is sued is called the defendant. Usually, in a medical malpractice action, the plaintiff is the patient who has been injured or the representative of the patient’s estate if the patient has been fatally injured, and the defendant is a medical practitioner (e.g. a doctor, chiropractor, nurse, medical or laboratory technician, or pharmacist). Often the employer of the medical practitioner (for example, a hospital authority or a corporation that operates a clinic or laboratory) will also be a defendant.

Defendants in Medical Malpractice Cases

A patient may also be severely or even fatally injured as a result of an adverse effect of medication, or a defect in a product used by a medical practitioner in diagnosing or treating the patient (e.g. medical equipment, devices, or supplies). 

Product Liability in Medical Malpractice

When a defect in a product used by a medical practitioner leads to injury or death, the patient or the patient’s estate representative can bring a product liability action against the manufacturer or supplier of the medical product.

Our Team

Weir Bowen lawyers have the experience to proceed effectively through all the steps in civil actions.

Whichever lawyer represents you, your case will be supported by the collective knowledge of our entire firm.

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INDIGENOUS LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The lands on which Edmonton sits and the North Saskatchewan River that runs through it have been the sites of natural abundance, ceremony and culture, travel and rest, relationship building, making, and trading for Indigenous peoples since time immemorial. Edmonton is located within Treaty 6 Territory and within the Metis homelands and Metis Nation of Alberta Region 4. We acknowledge this land as the traditional territories of many First Nations such as the Nehiyaw (Cree), Denesuline (Dene), Nakota Sioux (Stoney), Anishinaabe (Saulteaux) and Niitsitapi (Blackfoot).

Weir Bowen acknowledges the many First Nations, Métis and Inuit who have lived in and cared for these lands for generations. We are grateful for the traditional Knowledge Keepers and Elders who are still with us today and those who have gone before us. We make this acknowledgement as an act of reconciliation and gratitude to those whose territory we reside on or are visiting.