Dr. Michael Marrin

The plaintiffs brought a medical malpractice action against three obstetricians and a hospital regarding the birth of the infant plaintiff.

The mother alleged that she did not consent to the use of a vacuum or forceps during delivery, claiming medical battery and lack of informed consent.

She also alleged that the doctors breached the standard of care in their antenatal record keeping, failure to recommend a Caesarean section earlier, and the decision to attempt a vacuum and forceps-assisted delivery.

The court dismissed the action, finding that the mother had provided informed consent to the use of the instruments in the face of an urgent obstetrical situation involving fetal distress.

The court also found that the doctors met the standard of care in all respects and that the plaintiffs failed to prove that the neonatal injuries caused the infant plaintiff's subsequent neurodevelopmental limitations.

Appeal from a trial judgment finding that a nurse and hospital were liable for negligence in the care of a newborn who developed kernicterus due to untreated hyperbilirubinemia.

The trial judge found the nurse breached the standard of care by failing to report jaundice to the resident physician and that but for this negligence, phototherapy would have been commenced earlier, preventing the development of kernicterus.

The appellants challenged the causation findings.

The Court of Appeal upheld the trial judgment, finding that the trial judge properly inferred causation based on expert evidence and the factual progression of the infant's condition, and that the appellants could not escape liability by pointing to hypothetical negligence of other physicians.

The plaintiffs brought a medical malpractice action against the defendants after their newborn son developed kernicterus and suffered severe brain damage due to untreated hyperbilirubinemia.

The action against the physicians was settled, and the trial proceeded against the hospital and the nurse who cared for the infant overnight.

The court found that the nurse breached the standard of care by failing to report her observation of the infant's jaundice to a physician.

Applying a robust and pragmatic approach to causation, the court concluded that but for the nurse's negligence, a physician would have ordered a bilirubin test and initiated phototherapy in time to prevent the infant's injuries.

The hospital was held vicariously liable.

The appellants appealed the dismissal of their medical malpractice claim against a family physician for alleged negligence in prenatal care that resulted in the infant appellant being born with cerebral palsy.

The appellants argued the trial judge erred in rejecting their theories that the mother suffered from pre-eclampsia or elevated blood pressure, and that the physician was negligent in failing to induce labour or refer her to an obstetrician.

The Court of Appeal found no palpable and overriding error in the trial judge's findings that the physician met the standard of care and that the appellants failed to prove causation.

The appeal was dismissed.

The appellants, a nurse and a hospital, appealed a jury verdict finding them liable for a brain injury suffered by an infant during birth.

The jury found the nurse 75% liable and the hospital 25% liable, while dismissing claims against the delivering physician.

The appellants argued the verdict was unreasonable due to insufficient evidence of causation and lack of expert evidence on the hospital's standard of care, and that the trial judge erred in the jury charge.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, holding that the jury was entitled to determine the hospital's standard of care without expert evidence, that there was sufficient evidence to support the jury's finding of causation based on a robust and pragmatic application of the 'but for' test, and that the jury charge contained no reversible errors.

The plaintiffs brought a medical malpractice action alleging that the defendant family physician's negligence during the mother's pregnancy and delivery caused the infant plaintiff to be born with cerebral palsy.

The plaintiffs argued the doctor failed to properly monitor the mother's hypertension, failed to refer her to an obstetrician, and negligently prescribed enalapril, an ACE inhibitor, shortly before birth.

The Superior Court of Justice dismissed the action, finding that the doctor met the standard of care of a family physician in the circumstances and that his clinical judgments were reasonable.

Furthermore, the court concluded that the plaintiffs failed to prove on a balance of probabilities that the enalapril or the mother's hypertension caused the infant's injuries, which were likely the result of an acute intrauterine event such as cord compression.

In a medical negligence trial arising from a compromised birth, the plaintiffs alleged that labour and delivery nurses failed to meet obstetrical monitoring standards before a severe bradycardic event.

The court found that active labour had begun by at least 18:00, requiring half-hourly auscultation, and held the nursing care fell below the standard by failing to monitor appropriately, verify concerning findings, and escalate monitoring.

On causation, the court preferred expert evidence that a prolonged partial hypoxic-ischemic process likely developed before 21:00 and would probably have been detected with proper surveillance.

The court concluded earlier intervention would likely have prevented or substantially reduced the neurological injury.

The hospital was found liable, with damages previously admitted subject to approval.