Medical Malpractice
Lawyers
Bergel Magence LLP is built on the foundation of family. For over 50 years and two generations, we have fought the toughest fights for our injured clients, winning them top awards. To us, our clients are family. Contact us for a free, no obligation case evaluation.
Award Winning Medical Malpractice Lawyers
Every day in Toronto, and Ontario at large, people become victims of negligence and end up with serious injuries, pain, and trauma. Such circumstances may lead to expensive bills for medical treatment, caretaker costs, rehabilitation costs, loss of income, and other inconveniences resulting from the incurred injuries. As a victim of someone else’s carelessness, you may be entitled to damages from the liable party’s insurance company. However, this can be a frustrating process as insurance companies often try to minimize the seriousness of the situation so they don’t have to pay.
Bergel Magence was established nearly 50 years ago to help personal injury victims obtain the maximum compensation they deserve from the responsible parties and any insurance companies involved. For almost 5 decades, we have protected the rights of injured individuals and helped them get the necessary monetary awards owed to them. Our firm has successfully handled the most complex claims against giant insurance companies, including insurance companies who represent hospitals and medical professionals in medical malpractice lawsuits.
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Andrew Bergel
Ilan Bergel
Hayden Cantor
Lorne Climans
Christopher Finlay
- Injury lawyers since 1972
- Free initial consultation
- We handle all types of injury cases
- You Don’t Pay Until We Win
When it comes to medical malpractice claims, our team works with medical experts to understand the cause of your injuries and how it affects the rest of your life. We conduct thorough investigations to get all the details regarding your injury to create a strong claim. With Bergel Magence handling all facets of your personal injury claim, you can focus on your wellbeing and you family.
Contact Bergel Magence LLP today for a free, no-obligation consultation.
Common Causes of Medical Malpractice
Misdiagnosis
A misdiagnosis is a situation in which a doctor reaches an inaccurate medical conclusion when making a diagnosis. For example, a doctor might diagnose that you have flu, but you actually have Lyme disease. Considering that over 28% of misdiagnoses are life-threatening, you should contact a lawyer immediately if you believe that you or someone else are victims of a diagnostic error.
Delayed Diagnosis
Patients rely on medical professionals to take care of their health and wellbeing. If anything is wrong with their bodies, they expect the doctors to catch it early and offer treatment. In some cases, medical professionals are negligent and fail to diagnose an ailment or a health condition within a reasonable amount of time, leading to the deterioration of your health. As a victim of delayed diagnosis, you may be entitled to damages.
Surgical Errors
If a medical practitioner cuts a nerve during surgery, leaves a piece of surgical equipment in your body, operates on the wrong body part, incises the wrong location, or makes other surgical errors, they can cause irreparable harm altering your life forever. Surgical errors can be caused by carelessness and incompetence, and no patient deserves to be harmed while expecting exceptional work from surgeons and their supporting staff.
Medical Record Errors
Medical practitioners rely on your medical records to make decisions about your health and treatment. Therefore, the slightest mistakes in your records can lead to a misdiagnosis, serious injuries, worsening of illness, and wrong, life-altering medical decisions. If you or your loved one are harmed due to medical record errors, you can file a claim against the liable medical practitioner or hospital.
Prescription Medication Errors
If a doctor prescribes the wrong medication or dosage, or the pharmacist dispenses the wrong medication, or the nurse administers the wrong dosage to a patient, it can lead to serious health issues. Further, if a doctor fails to check for potentially dangerous drug interactions or allergies, life-threatening reactions can occur. Some prescription medication errors can result from misdiagnosis and medical record errors.
Birth Trauma
Birth injuries can result from medical malpractice during the gestation period or delivery process. Your obstetrician may fail to diagnose a congenital disability or a medical condition during pregnancy, which leads to a birth injury. During childbirth, medical professionals who fail to meet the required standard of care can cause nerve damage, cerebral palsy, paralysis, or fractures, causing lifelong harm to newborns. Negligent practitioners can also inflict birth injuries on the mother leading to complications or even death.
Anesthesia Errors
Anesthesia is a major and inherently risky part of any medical procedure, requiring anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists to be keen and thorough prior to and during operations. Pre-op anesthesia errors occur when the anesthesiologist fails to properly review your medical records, which may cause them to administer drugs that you’re allergic to, leading to injury or death. During the operation, administering the wrong anesthesia and failure to monitor your vitals may also lead to catastrophic injuries or death.
Other Forms of Negligent Care
Other circumstances of medical malpractices include:
- Lack of informed consent
- Wrongful death
- Hospital negligence
- Improper treatment
- Nursing errors
- Chiropractic errors
- Unnecessary surgeries
Contact Experienced Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Toronto
Bergel Magence LLP has been helping accident victims obtain substantial awards for nearly five decades. Below you will find just a handful of examples of awards that we have recently negotiated or won for our clients.
for a passenger in a car who was rendered quadriplegic as a result of a motor vehicle accident
for a teenage boy who sustained a brain injury in a motor vehicle accident
for a teenage boy with developmental delay who suffered a brain injury in a motor vehicle accident
for an unemployed visitor to Canada who suffered a brain injury in a motor vehicle accident
for our client who suffered fractures to his ankle, knee, neck and pneumothorax in a motor vehicle accident
for our client who suffered multiple fractures in a motor vehicle accident
- Home Visits
- Hospital Visits
- NO FEES UNLESS WE WIN
- Maximum Compensation
- TESTIMONIALS
How do you prove medical malpractice in Canada?
Medical malpractice cases are quite complex, legally and medically. This is why, before starting any case, we conduct thorough investigations to establish if your case is likely to succeed. For a viable medical malpractice case, one must prove the following legal elements:
- Duty – prove that the at-fault medical professional had an obligation to provide you with adequate medical care, i.e., a doctor-patient relationship.
- Breach – prove that the medical professional failed to meet the reasonable duty of care as expected of doctors in the same community under the same set of circumstances.
- Causation – one must prove that the doctor’s failure to provide the expected care, or rather their negligence and breach of duty, led to the injuries, trauma, pain, or suffering you sustained.
- Damages – prove that you suffered financial and physical injuries due to the doctor’s negligent acts.
If the above elements are present in your case and there is significant negligence present, there’s a reasonable chance that your claim will succeed. As your lawyers, we’ll get expert medical practitioners to testify how they would have provided medical care in the same situation that led to your injury.
How long will my case take?
Medical malpractice cases are quite complex compared to other personal injury cases due to the vast legal and medical issues involved. If the at-fault medical practitioner or the hospital involved is willing to settle, the case may not take as long. However, most medical malpractice cases tend to go to trial, whereas other types of personal injury cases settle at earlier stages. If your case goes to trial, it might take 5 years from the day we open your file to obtain an outcome. On average, the medical malpractice cases we handle at Bergel Magence LLP take 2-3 years to get results.
Due to the complexity of the legal and medical matters involved in medical malpractice cases, it’s highly advisable to retain an experienced medical malpractice attorney in Toronto. We’ll advance your claim and get you the compensation you deserve. Call us today at 1 866 492 3743 for a free case review.
When should I see a lawyer?
If you are a victim of a negligent medical practitioner, get in touch with a personal injury lawyer in Toronto as quickly as possible. Most claims have stringent timelines, and if you fail to meet them, you may miss the deadline to file a claim. After incurring an injury, you should contact a medical malpractice lawyer as soon as possible. We will file a notice of claim and ensure that your case is on track, and no deadlines are missed.
How much time do I have to sue?
Medical malpractice cases have limitation periods. If you’re looking to sue a medical practitioner or a hospital, you have a two-year limitation period from the day you become apprised of the injury or act negligence/malpractice. If you haven’t filed your claim by the 2-year limitation period, you might get precluded from starting a medical malpractice lawsuit. However, in some cases, exemptions to the limitation period are made, such as when you realize that you suffered an injury several months or years after treatment.
There are also some special limitation periods for cases involving fatalities, children, and mentally disabled persons.
To discuss limitation periods and how they may affect your case, contact our medical malpractice lawyers.
What are the chances that my case will go to trial?
Due to the complexity of medical malpractice lawsuits and the parties involved, it’s hard to tell if the case will settle or go to trial at the outset. As your lawyers, we endeavour to get you compensation in the fastest and least burdensome way possible. As we receive more information from the medical experts we retain, monitor your recovery progress, and see the insurance company’s position, we will have a better idea about whether or not your case may go to trial. Either way, we will keep you informed every step of the way.
How much is my case worth?
There are many factors that can influence the monetary value of your case, including:
- Pain and suffering
- Past expenses resulting from the injury incurred
- Past, current, and future loss of income
- Medical expenses
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Punitive damages
- Family law act claim
The amount that may be awarded will vary depending on the specific details of your case, taking all of the above points into consideration. For more information on the potential amount of recovery in your medical malpractice claim, feel free to call us at 1 866 492 3743.
What is informed consent, and why is it important?
Doctors are obligated to fully inform you of any risks and benefits associated with high-risk procedures and treatments. When you’ve been advised of the possible risks and agree to continue with the treatment, you’ll likely be asked to sign an informed consent form. If the doctors withhold any information about treatment from you as a patient or from your guardian, you’ll be signing the informed consent form without all the facts required to make the best decision for your health and care. If a medical practitioner conducts treatment without your fully informed consent or against your wishes, they may be breaking the law or, in other words, engaging in medical battery.
If you believe that you or someone you know is a victim of a procedure or treatment that they did not consent to, or if you/they provided consent without being fully informed of the risks, you may be eligible for compensation. Contact Bergel Magence LLP for more information.
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