Jean-Pierre Pilon

The respondents brought an action for damages against a doctor and the appellant hospital alleging medical malpractice.

The Superior Court found no fault on the part of the doctor and dismissed the action.

The Court of Appeal reversed this judgment and found both the doctor and the hospital liable.

In a companion appeal, the Supreme Court of Canada allowed the doctor's appeal and found no fault.

Consequently, the Court allowed the hospital's appeal, holding that the hospital could only be liable if the doctor was found to be at fault.

The respondents' five-year-old daughter suffered a severed artery and was taken to a general hospital, where the appellant doctor treated her.

Realizing he could not repair the artery, the appellant transferred her to a paediatric hospital without administering a blood transfusion.

The child later suffered a cardio-respiratory arrest resulting in severe brain damage.

The trial judge dismissed the medical malpractice action, finding the appellant exercised sound judgment, but the Court of Appeal reversed this decision.

The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal, holding that the Court of Appeal erred by substituting its own assessment of the facts and expert evidence for that of the trial judge without identifying a palpable and overriding error.