HomeNews Legal News BC Medical Malpractice Claim Dismissed Despite Negligence

Apr 21, 2022 in News --> Legal News

BC Medical Malpractice Claim Dismissed Despite Negligence

medical malpractice, medical negligence, causation

A recent Supreme Court decision in British Columbia serves to illustrate the significant challenges facing Canadian medical malpractice lawyers and their clients. Even in cases where infant patients suffer serious adverse effects following negligent acts, there is always a possibility that the defendant medical professionals will be cleared of liability. Let’s take a look at what happened in Hanson-Tasker v. Ewart, as reported by Canadian Lawyer magazine.

Kyrcee Hanson-Tasker was born prematurely on July 29, 1996, at Mills Memorial Hospital in Terrace, British Columbia. She was immediately discharged despite showing signs of jaundice. Eight days later, she arrived via emergency medivac at B.C. Children’s Hospital in Vancouver. There, she was diagnosed with a variety of serious birth injuries and conditions, including hyperbilirubinemia and kernicterus, a type of brain damage.

Nearly 20 years later, Kyrcee’s mother launched a medical malpractice claim against Dr. Brian Ewart, Dr. Sheila Ewart, and several other physicians at Mills Memorial. Initiating legal proceedings so long after the injuries took place was permitted because the standard two-year limitation period for personal injury claims doesn’t commence until a minor plaintiff has turned 18. The plaintiff’s case alleged that Kyrcee’s injuries would not have occurred had her obstetrical physicians provided better care. 

At trial, the court cautioned that “physicians must be judged in light of the knowledge they ought to have reasonably possessed at the time of the alleged act of negligence, not with the benefit of hindsight given prevailing standards of professional knowledge.”

Yet the court still found that both Dr. Brian and Dr. Sheila Ewart failed to provide an appropriate standard of care. It determined that the physicians ought to have known that Kyrcee was at risk of hyperbilirubinemia, that her jaundice had not peaked at the time of discharge, that her bilirubin was likely to increase, and that she would need rigorous follow-ups. It also found that Dr. Brian Ewart’s charting and communication were sub-standard, and that Dr. Sheila Ewart failed to determine the extent and progression of Kyrcee’s jaundice. 

Despite these findings, the plaintiff’s claim was ultimately dismissed by the Supreme Court on the basis that they were unable to prove that the doctors’ extensive negligence was the primary cause of Kyrcee’s injuries. Instead, the court found that the injuries were caused by a hemolytic event that could not be directly linked to her substandard care.

If you or someone you love has been injured as a result of substandard medical care, contact Neinstein Medical Malpractice Lawyers to discuss your options. Our team will review your case, assess the viability of your claim, and provide guidance on the next steps in your legal journey.

 

Image: Shutterstock