The plaintiff brought a medical negligence action alleging a wrongful hysterectomy performed during a scheduled myomectomy procedure.
The physician converted the surgery intra-operatively to a hysterectomy after discovering adenomyosis, asserting that the patient had been informed of and accepted the risk.
The court found the physician failed to disclose the possibility of a non-emergency hysterectomy performed solely to relieve pain and bleeding symptoms, and that the patient had not consented to such a procedure.
Applying the informed consent test from Reibl v Hughes and Arndt v Smith, the court held that a reasonable person in the patient’s circumstances—who strongly desired pregnancy and had an upcoming fertility consultation—would not have accepted the risk.
Liability was established and the court awarded $75,000 in general damages for loss of reproductive capacity and related psychological harm.
