Malpractice Judgment(s)
Practitioners are required to report all malpractice judgments
in the last 10 years. For doctors practising less than
10 years, the data covers their total years of
practice. The profile identifies the court that issued
the judgment and the date of the judgment. Questions or
requests for further information about the judgment, including
dollar amounts, should be directed to the physician or to the court
that issued the judgment.
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When considering malpractice judgments, please keep in mind:
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Some studies have shown little correlation between the existence
of a malpractice judgment history and the
practitioner’s competence to provide care.
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Malpractice judgment histories tend to vary by
specialty. Some specialties are more likely than others
to be the subject of litigation. Some doctors work
primarily with high-risk patients. These doctors may
have malpractice judgment histories that are higher than average
because they specialize in cases or patients who are at very high
risk for problems.
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The profile system does not include information respecting
settlements made out of court. Settlement of a claim
may occur for a variety of reasons, which do not necessarily
reflect negatively on the professional competence or conduct of the
practitioner.
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The incident causing the malpractice judgment may have happened
years before a payment is finally made. For profile
purposes, the date of the court judgment is the relevant date.
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Where a physician initiates an appeal of a malpractice judgment,
the profile must include that information.
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Malpractice judgments are limited to Canadian judgments, due to
the complexity of assessing judgments from countries with political
regimes and/or judicial systems different than Canadian
systems. It is therefore possible that there are
malpractice judgments issued against physicians which are not
revealed on the profile system.
