March 29th, 2012
With the rare exception of self-evident cases (wrong-limb surgery, sponges inadvertently left post-operatively), and cases where the standard practice itself is fraught with obvious risks such that anyone is capable of finding it negligent (ter Neuzen v. Korn, [1995] 3S.C.R. 674, no medical malpractice action can be prosecuted successfully without expert input from an appropriate medical practitioner.
Presented at Ontario Bar Association Continuing Legal Education conference, March 29, 2012