Future Docs Blog

Ontario, Canada can have medical malpractice lawsuits lingering in the law courts for up to six years on average, which are usually caused by loads of unacceptable delays which end up delaying the whole process itself. Six years is a long time and a lot can happen in between that period. This issue needs to be looked into and amended as soon as possible. This has proven to be a serious concern to both the clients and the medical malpractice lawyers Toronto.

And the worst part about it is that even those medical malpractice lawsuits that end up being thrown out of the law courts or dismissed at the end of the day take up to well over three and a half years, explained Stephen Goudge’s analysis, a retired judge.

Stephen calls upon the province to appoint judges who are better suited to handle these medical malpractice cases and use their expertise and to even set the trial dates earlier so as to ‘focus’ the attorney’s attention.

The length of the time it takes for plaintiffs to know whether they are liable for compensation or not is too long and is continuing to raise legitimate concerns as well. Not to mention the economic and human consequences that these lengthy delays pose, explains Stephen.

Then comes the expenses involved when handling medical malpractice claims. The costs have risen so much that they now record a record high of over 700% increase in the past 25 years in Ontario alone. This is way more expensive than in any of the other provinces in the country.

And you realize that it is the taxpayers who are covering for these expensive and needless costs which could have, otherwise, been avoided.

Stephen also urges the government and province to try and invest more funds into how it can prevent these medical errors which can be the best way to control and minimize these expenses. You won’t have to pay for what never happened.

But knowing how the government system works, you should expect the deliberation process to throw these reviews in the air as they wait to see how the election on June 7th is going to go, and whether the country will be ushering in a new government.

And you find that the funding costs of the Canadian Medical Protective Association is ever rising with the total amount across all of Canada being over $5gg million in 2016 which was augmented by the $200 million in investment income and contributing to assets of about $4 billion.

In 2017 alone, Ontario was projected to have paid $335 million out of the total $484 million which was charged in fees to its doctors. This was a major leap considering that it was just $46 million in 2011. Leaves you to wonder doesn’t it?

Many of the patient’s advocates and attorneys have long-complained of how this multi-billion-dollar organization allows it to easily fund any legal fees for the defenses of the doctors which can eventually prolong cases. One of the judges once described this as a “scorched-earth.”

Stephen again noted how the damages are then calculated and all attempts made to try and reduce the overall costs for the compensation of the plaintiffs. These delays are just too long and anything can happen in between the process.