Hospitals and healthcare providers in Atlantic Canada can be sued for medical negligence when substandard care leads to injury. These cases generally depend on showing that a provider failed to meet the accepted standard of care and that this failure directly caused the injury.
If you believe you or a loved one has been affected, speaking with a medical malpractice lawyer can help clarify your options. Valent Legal is here to review your situation and help you understand your next steps.
Step 1: Get Medical Attention and Document the Harm
If you suspect medical malpractice, seek medical attention right away for any ongoing, new, or worsening symptoms. As you recover, keep detailed records of the harm you experienced. Helpful documentation may include:
- Symptoms and complications: Note when symptoms appeared, how they progressed, and how they affect your daily activities.
- Medical appointments and treatment: Keep a timeline of hospital visits, follow-up care, tests, diagnoses, and procedures.
- Medical expenses: Save receipts and records for medications, treatments, travel, and other related costs.
- Missed work and lost income: Track any time away from work and resulting financial losses.
- Communications with healthcare providers: Keep copies of emails, letters, discharge instructions, and other communications.
Step 2: Speak With a Medical Malpractice Lawyer
If you suspect that negligent hospital care may have caused harm, consider speaking with a medical malpractice lawyer early in the process. A lawyer can do the following:
- Review medical records and the details of your care to understand what happened
- Gather and preserve evidence relevant to your care
- Determine which healthcare providers or institutions may be responsible
- Consult with medical experts to assess the quality of care provided
- Provide clear guidance on your legal rights and possible next steps
- Take action to seek compensation for your losses when appropriate
At Valent Legal, we provide free consultations so you can better understand your options without paying upfront costs. Our firm works on a contingency basis, meaning you only pay legal fees if we recover compensation on your behalf.
Step 3: Determine Whether the Hospital’s Care May Have Been Negligent
Hospitals can be held vicariously liable for their employees’ negligence. While most doctors are not directly employed by hospitals, nurses and other professionals may be. In addition, hospitals can also be directly liable when their own conduct, procedures, or policies result in harm.
A poor medical outcome is not always the result of medical negligence. Some treatments carry inherent risks, and complications can occur even when medical staff provide appropriate care.
For your claim to succeed, you must establish the following:
- Breach of the standard of care: The hospital or healthcare provider failed to provide the level of care that a reasonably competent provider would have delivered in similar circumstances. Examples include misdiagnosis, surgical errors, and prescription mistakes. Meanwhile, hospitals may be directly liable for employing underqualified staff, understaffing, and more.
- Causation: The breach directly caused or contributed to your injury.
- Damages: You suffered compensable damages, such as medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and long-term complications.
An experienced lawyer can review your case and determine whether a hospital is responsible for a negligent act or omission that has caused harm to you or a loved one.
Step 4: Request Your Hospital and Medical Records
Hospital and medical records are often some of the most important pieces of evidence in a medical malpractice claim. They can help establish what care you received, when events occurred, and whether any errors or delays may have contributed to your injury.
Request copies of the following:
- Treatment notes and clinical records
- Scans, imaging results, and laboratory reports
- Medication and prescription records
- Discharge summaries and follow-up instructions
- Surgical reports and procedure records
It is generally a good idea to request these records as soon as possible. Early access to your records can help preserve important details.
Step 5: Have Medical Professionals Review the Case
Medical professionals help determine whether a patient’s care met the accepted standard and whether any failure in that care caused harm. Their analysis is often critical in medical malpractice cases in Atlantic Canada.
They may examine hospital records, treatment decisions, and timelines to evaluate how the care was provided. They also compare the care against established medical practice to identify possible errors, delays, or omissions. In Nova Scotia, most medical malpractice cases require expert testimony to establish the standard of care, the breach of that standard, and the cause of the injury.
Step 6: File the Lawsuit Before the Limitation Deadline
Medical malpractice claims are subject to strict time limits known as limitation periods. The limitation periods differ by province. However, throughout Atlantic Canada, the basic limitation period is generally two years from the date of the injury. This deadline can vary depending on the facts of the case and any applicable exceptions.
One key exception is the discoverability rule. Under this rule, the limitation period may begin when the injury is discovered, or when it reasonably should have been discovered, rather than the date of the medical treatment if the harm was not immediately known.
Because these deadlines can affect your right to bring a claim, it is important to act quickly. Missing a limitation period may prevent you from pursuing compensation altogether. A medical malpractice lawyer can help determine the deadlines that apply to your situation and ensure your claim is filed properly and on time.
Step 7: Go Through Discovery, Settlement Discussions, or Trial
Once a medical malpractice lawsuit is filed, the case moves through several formal stages. While each case is different, most involve the following steps:
- Statement of claim: You set out your allegations, including what happened and how you were harmed.
- Statement of defence: The defendants respond to your claims and explain their position.
- Discovery process: Both sides exchange key documents, including medical records, and conduct sworn questioning of parties and witnesses to gather detailed information.
- Settlement discussions: The parties can negotiate a settlement and resolve the case at any time during the process.
- Trial: If no settlement is reached, the case proceeds to trial before a judge and jury.
Our team brings decades of combined experience in handling complex personal injury cases across Atlantic Canada. When results matter, let us help. Our client testimonials show how we’ve helped malpractice victims navigate the legal process with confidence and care.
Who Can Be Sued in a Hospital Negligence Claim?
Liability in a medical malpractice claim may extend to more than one individual or organization. The responsible parties depend on how the care was provided and where the breakdown in care occurred.
Responsible parties may include:
- Hospitals or hospital corporations, particularly where system-wide issues contributed to unsafe care
- Doctors and physicians involved in the diagnosis, treatment, or oversight
- Surgeons and other medical professionals are responsible for procedures or medical decisions
- Nursing and clinical staff involved in patient monitoring, medication, and day-to-day care
- Other healthcare providers or staff who played a role in the patient’s treatment
Speak With a Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Atlantic Canada
If you are unsure whether you have a claim, it is still worth speaking with a medical malpractice lawyer. You do not need to have all the facts or complete medical records before reaching out. At Valent Legal, our medical malpractice lawyers can determine whether a medical provider was negligent and explain the legal options available to you. The earlier you involve our team, the better we can preserve key evidence and ensure you do not miss key deadlines.
Contact us online or call (902) 443-4488 today for a free consultation.