Victoria Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Residents of Victoria are injured in accidents every day. Most of those are benign and impose no lasting costs or effects on the victim. When medical negligence causes an injury, however, the patient can suffer significant health and financial problems. If this has happened to you, please contact our Preszler team of Victoria personal injury lawyers.
We expanded our medical malpractice law firm into British Columbia to represent residents of Victoria and its surrounding communities. We provide dedicated legal services to individuals who have been harmed after a hospital, health care center, or physician failed to adhere to the standards of care that they are obligated to follow.
Medical Malpractice Under Canadian law
Each medical malpractice case will reflect a unique fact pattern, but in every case, the basis of liability is that a health care provider did not provide medical services that met minimal standards of care. Consider, for example:
- A surgeon might accidentally leave a sponge or surgical tool in a patient;
- A patient might be turned away from a medical facility due to his or her gender or race;
- A patient agreed to undergo a medical procedure or course of treatment without receiving full disclosure of all adverse risks, and those risks subsequently led to an injury;
- A doctor might misread a diagnostic test and fail to provide appropriate treatment for an illness or condition;
- A patient contracts a serious infection while recuperating from a surgical procedure.
The Roadblocks to Recovering Damages for Medical Malpractice
In almost every medical malpractice lawsuit that is filed in British Columbia, the injured patient will confront challenges from the Canadian Medical Practice Association (CMPA), which provides a form of insurance for most physicians. The CMPA has substantial experience in defending medical malpractice claims and will often discourage an injured patient from retaining a lawyer. You should always confer with a medical malpractice lawyer before discussing any substantive claims directly with the CMPA.
Proving Medical Malpractice with Expert Witness Testimony
Given the complexity of modern health care services, a lawyer will typically retain an expert witness who will establish the standard of care that applies to the specific medical specialty or practice that is at the foundation of an injured patient’s case. This person will describe how a physician or hospital failed to provide services following that standard.
The expert will need to examine medical records as soon as is possible. To give that expert the best opportunity to build a case for your damages recovery, you should contact a medical malpractice lawyer before those records grow old or witness memories fade.
When to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
A British Columbia court will summarily dismiss a medical malpractice lawsuit that is filed more than two years after the injury. A patient, therefore, needs to be diligent in protecting their right to recover all the damages that may be available. Canadian law does not place any limits on a patient’s right to recover damages for present and anticipated future medical expenses, lost salary, and rehabilitation costs. It does place a cap of $350,000 on non-economic damages, including pain and suffering.
Contact Victoria Personal Injury Lawyers
Call us to speak directly with a lawyer at any time of day or night, including weekends and holidays. We have offices in Vancouver and Burnaby, and five other satellite locations throughout British Columbia. Your initial consultation with one of our lawyers is always complimentary, and you will never be asked to pay directly for our services. We will earn our fees from the damages we collect for you, and your services will be free if we are unsuccessful.
