A recent report commissioned by the Ontario government found that medical malpractice cases in the province take too long to resolve and cost taxpayers too much money.
Authored by retired Justice Stephen Goudge, the report said it takes about seven years for cases to make their ways through the courts and nearly five years to reach settlements.
“The time these cases take is sufficiently significant that the concerns about delay appeared justified,” the former justice wrote in the report.
Goudge added that the total case costs jumped by up to 700% (unadjusted for inflation) between 1990 and 2015.
“As medical liability costs rise, the cost of medical liability protection necessarily rises. This, and concerns about the length of time required for individuals to obtain compensation for injuries due to medical mistakes, suggest that changes to the medical liability aspect of the civil justice system may be needed to ensure the long-term viability of the way medical liability protection is presently provided in Ontario,” the Medical Liability Review, released last week, stated.
Ontario has been subsidizing the fees of the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) – the organization that pays for the legal fees of physicians in medical malpractice lawsuits – since 1987. Since then, victims and their lawyers have raised their concerns regarding the CMPA’s “scorched earth” tactics, forcing plaintiffs into long, drawn-out legal battles.
Another earlier report by Toronto Star found the cost to taxpayers increased by more than 3,200% by 2014. At that point, taxpayers were paying nearly $200 million annually – 81% of the total fee bill – to subsidize the legal defense of doctors charged with medical negligence.
Some lawyers have pointed out that the system does not favour patients.
“The time it takes to settle even the clearest of cases is just too long for innocent patients. Denied compensation for years, these individuals don’t get the care they need,” Ontario Trial Lawyers Association president Claire Wilkinson told Toronto Star.
Wilkinson added that fewer cases are being filed due to the increasingly high costs to sue doctors.
“The vigorous defence of medical malpractice cases by the CMPA ensures that it is not economic to take on cases that do not involve the most serious injuries,” she remarked. “Victims with claims less than $250,000 find it hard to get an experienced lawyer.”
