Wagners – your medical malpractice lawyers – do our best to serve residents of Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada.
We place great trust in doctors, nurses, and hospitals to provide patient care in a way that promotes our safety and well-being. When healthcare professionals make mistakes, the consequences can be devastating. A doctor, nurse, dentist, pharmacist, or other medical professional who acts in a negligent manner can jeopardize the health and safety of their patient and cause life-altering injuries or even death.
Medical malpractice cases are technical, complex, and require experience navigating nuanced issues of both law and medicine.
The medical malpractice team at Wagners is experienced in this specialized area. Our lawyers offer compassion and quality representation to injured patients who have been harmed by medical malpractice or negligence throughout Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
If you or a family member have been a victim of medical malpractice, we will listen carefully and determine if there is a basis for advancing a medical negligence claim. This determination includes both a legal opinion from our experienced medical malpractice team, and a medical opinion from an independent medical expert who we will retain on your behalf.
Our medical malpractice team has experience navigating medical negligence claims in relation to complex issues, including:
A successful medical malpractice case requires that the patient – the plaintiff – prove the following:
As patients, we place our trust and lives in the hands of our doctors, hospitals, and healthcare providers. Substandard medical care can cause serious and lasting injuries that will profoundly change the course of a patient’s life. At Wagners, we routinely represent patients who, as a result of medical error, have suffered injuries such as:
These serious injuries often require ongoing care, adaptive aides, and professional services that can be extremely costly. When serious injuries are caused by medical negligence, patients should not have to bear those costs on their own. The experienced medical malpractice team at Wagners can help you advance a claim for financial compensation so you can access the care and resources you need to support your independence, mobility, and quality of life. We have experience providing compassionate and quality representation to patients who have been harmed by medical negligence throughout Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Our medical malpractice lawyers handle a broad range of cases involving:
At Wagner’s, our medical malpractice lawyers in Halifax have broad and extensive experience and a proven track record in medical malpractice and hospital negligence claims. Our trial lawyers routinely undertake complex cases all across the Maritimes. We will guide and support you through each part of the process and pursue your case with skill, knowledge, and experience.
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured by medical negligence, our lawyers at Wagners can help you. Call us at 902-425-7330 or 1-800-465-8794 or complete the short online contact form.
Medical malpractice is the area of law that deals with the negligence of medical professionals, including doctors, nurses, and hospitals.
Even though medical professionals are highly trained, they can make mistakes. Not every mistake a doctor makes leads to legal liability. When determining if a doctor is liable, the court will consider whether the doctor meets the standards of other reasonable doctors in the same field. For instance, a specialist is held to a different standard than a general practitioner. You should reach out to a medical malpractice lawyer if you suspect a doctor or other medical professional made an error in your care. The lawyer will review the facts and advise whether you have a medical malpractice claim. Suing a doctor is a long and intricate process; a medical malpractice lawyer makes the process much easier.
Some complications following surgery – particularly those which were unexpected and undisclosed beforehand – can ground a claim for medical malpractice. It is important to remember, however, that not all complications are a sign of medical error. Any surgery carries some measure of inherent risk, and the body may react to treatment in a manner that no doctor could have foreseen. A lawyer investigate whether the complication was one that should have been reasonably foreseen and disclosed to the patient in advance. After conducting thorough research, our medical malpractice lawyers can advise you on the viability of a medical malpractice lawsuit against your surgeon.
You and your lawyer are entitled to copies of your medical records. With your permission, your lawyer will obtain copies of your medical records from health care providers on your behalf.
There is generally a two-year limitation period to bring an action in medical negligence. This two-year period begins from the date the malpractice was discovered.
There are many factors that can affect the time limit for filing an action in medical negligence. For example, if a patient is a minor at the time the negligence occurs, the two-year limitation period does not start until the patient reaches the age of majority – being 18 or 19 years of age, depending on the Province. Additionally, medical malpractice claims for fatal injuries in Nova Scotia are subject to a one-year limitation period.
An experienced medical malpractice lawyer can review your matter and advise you on the specific limitation period applicable to your action, based on your Province and type of injury.
Wagners’ medical malpractice lawyers work all across Atlantic Canada. In most circumstances, patients sue medical professionals in the province where they received the negligent treatment. In some unique cases, however, the court may allow a patient to file a claim in their home province for services they received elsewhere. You can discuss this with your medical malpractice lawyers to determine the most appropriate jurisdiction for your matter.
In a medical malpractice claim, the Plaintiff must prove three elements of negligence: 1) the medical professional’s care fell below the standard of a reasonable medical professional in similar circumstances, 2) that substandard care caused injury, and 3) serious and substantial legal damages. Medical malpractice claims rely on medical experts to prove each element of a claim. These matters are complex and long; we recommend seeking legal representation by experienced medical malpractice lawyers to get you through your claim.
Courts can award monetary damages in the event a patient’s claim is successful. Nurses, hospitals, and other medical professionals are insured for these circumstances. Doctors have their own coverage provided by the Canadian Medical Protective Association, which acts similarly to an insurer. The medical professional will receive legal representation, and their insurer will pay your damages in the event of a successful claim. Medical professionals do not lose their license or pay out of pocket for your claim. Their insurance provides coverage in the event they make a mistake and injure a patient.
Courts do not have the authority to remove a medical professional’s license. However, you may file a complaint with the medical professional’s licensing body, such as the college of physicians or the college of nurses. These organizations grant licenses, and have the authority to order education, fines, and revoke licenses. They will investigate your complaint to determine the appropriate response. This can be done without a lawyer, but speak with your lawyer first if you are also contemplating litigation through the Courts.
Birth trauma occurs when a baby suffers serious injuries during labor and delivery. Common birth injuries include hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), cerebral palsy (CP), and brachial plexus injuries (BPI). If your child has suffered from a birth injury, they may be entitled to compensation. These claims are complex and costly, requiring in-depth knowledge of the medicine at play. Wagners’ medical malpractice team is experienced in navigating these complicated matte
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