Before a Canadian lawyer assesses your concern, learn what an anaesthesia error may involve and what to prepare, including questions for the malpractice review.
Our featured firm in Canada is Diamond & Diamond Lawyers LLP. Diamond & Diamond Lawyers LLP is our featured partner in Canada and is listed first. Of the 53 firms on our 13 city lists in Canada, Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers scores highest on malpractice focus, published results, client reviews and experience, followed by Paul Cahill and Sommers Roth & Elmaleh. Each firm keeps its best score from the cities it serves; open a city for its full list.
Jeremy Syrtash leads the medical malpractice litigation practice at Diamond & Diamond Lawyers LLP. He earned a BA from Yeshiva University (2010) and a JD from the University of Ottawa (2013), was called to the Bar of Ontario in 2014, and has acted as counsel and co-counsel in medical malpractice cases across Canada, many involving pediatric and obstetrical negligence.
Called to the Bar of Ontario, 2014 · JD, University of Ottawa · Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Canada, Health Care Law (2024 to 2027)
We order firms by how much of their work is medical malpractice, the results they publish, what their clients say, their experience, their standing with the regulator and the recognition they have earned, all from public records and the firms' own sites. How lists are made
We order firms by how much of their work is medical malpractice, the results they publish, what their clients say, their experience, their standing with the regulator and the recognition they have earned, all from public records and the firms' own sites. How lists are made
Medical negligence is the focus of Sommers Roth & Elmaleh's practice. If your claim concerns obstetric malpractice or a missed diagnosis, the firm handles those cases, as well as hospital and nursing staff errors.
We order firms by how much of their work is medical malpractice, the results they publish, what their clients say, their experience, their standing with the regulator and the recognition they have earned, all from public records and the firms' own sites. How lists are made
For an improper cancer diagnosis, Michael Drake publishes a $402,132.61 result; an improper treatment plan resulted in $370,000. These involve medical malpractice, not claims about injuries generally.
We order firms by how much of their work is medical malpractice, the results they publish, what their clients say, their experience, their standing with the regulator and the recognition they have earned, all from public records and the firms' own sites. How lists are made
Anesthesia malpractice lawyers by province
The rules change from one province to the next, so the lawyers near you are the ones to call.
An anaesthesia error may support a malpractice claim, but the care must have fallen below the required standard and caused harm. When reviewing a dosing mistake, look carefully at any failed airway management or poor monitoring too. A serious outcome doesn't, by itself, prove negligence. You can start by getting the anaesthesia chart, then ask a lawyer in your province or territory to review the procedure you're worried about.
You may recall little about being treated. Something went wrong, but your family may know little else. You can ask for a review without identifying a mistake yourself, even if the hospital's explanation leaves you unsure about what happened during your treatment.
What an anaesthesia error can involve
An error may involve medication dosing or a failure to manage a patient's airway, and inadequate monitoring is another concern discussed here. Don't lump those concerns together. Rather than treating every injury around a procedure as the same mistake, the review should pinpoint what's in question about your treatment.
Possible harms include brain injury or awareness during anaesthesia, though an error can also cause death. These aren't minor harms. Naming the harm still doesn't tell you what caused it. To determine whether a failure in care caused the injury, a review needs to look at the treatment this patient received.
Possible concerns to discuss with the reviewing lawyer
Concern
Question to ask
Information to request
Medication dosing
Was there a dosing error, and did it cause harm?
Ask for the medication entries and the anaesthesia chart.
Airway management
Was airway management a concern in this procedure?
Ask where the chart records airway care and any difficulty.
Monitoring
Was monitoring inadequate in a way that contributed to the injury?
Ask what monitoring information is available for review.
Awareness
How should the patient's recollection be assessed?
Write down what the patient recalls and ask for the relevant treatment records.
Nothing in these questions amounts to findings about your care. This page doesn't establish Canadian anaesthesia error rates or give you a medical checklist you can use to prove negligence. The questions can help you ask for a review of your treatment; a numerical estimate wouldn't tell you what happened during your procedure.
How to approach warning signs and an incomplete explanation
If someone has told you there was a dosing mistake, ask which medication you received and check what the chart records. Write down the words someone uses to explain any difficulty they had managing the airway. Ask which part of the treatment is in question if someone raises concerns about monitoring. Every reading won't necessarily tell you the same story.
An error isn't yours to diagnose alone. Don't use this page as a reliable list of symptoms that identify an anaesthesia injury. If you're worried about a medical problem now, seek a medical assessment. Don't delay that to consult a lawyer.
If you remember being aware during treatment, write down what you recall in your own words. Keep what you were told afterwards separate from that account. Ask the lawyer how your memories fit with the anaesthesia record, including what it says about the treatment you received during the procedure.
That distinction matters for families as well. Someone may have explained what happened in a corridor while you were frightened or too exhausted to take it in. Rather than offering uncertain wording as an exact quotation, it's reasonable to write, “I believe this is what I was told,” when that's all you can say.
What makes it malpractice rather than a bad outcome
When reviewing malpractice, the lawyer must examine the standard of care and causation, as well as the harm. Don't blur those separate questions. Without examining the treatment, people can jump from “there was an injury” to “someone must have been negligent” as the discussion moves along.
The standard of care
Given the circumstances, what care was required, and did the recorded treatment fall below that standard? Those questions aren't answered by a concerning event. If you've raised a dosing concern or an issue with airway management or monitoring, the lawyer reviewing your case should explain what medical opinion is needed to assess it.
Causation
You then need to ask whether the alleged failure caused the harm. Timing alone isn't proof. Ask the lawyer what shows that the possible mistake caused your injury, rather than assuming the two are connected because a mistake may have happened.
Be as precise as you can about what happened when. When explaining what you knew before treatment and what you heard afterwards, include when you learned there might have been an error. You don't have to draw a medical conclusion without an answer.
Harm
When describing the harm you want assessed, tell the lawyer how your life has changed because of it. If you already have documents supporting that account, keep them, including treatment records or receipts connected with the injury. Which losses might matter is worth asking. You can also ask the lawyer what further documents they'd want to see.
Records and questions to bring to a consultation
The records you have are your starting point. If your file is incomplete, you can still contact a lawyer about a deadline. Tell the firm which records you already have so it can explain what else it needs before assessing the care.
Include the anaesthesia chart when requesting your procedure records. You can describe your treatment without knowing the documents' names, then ask which records cover the care you received.
If the hospital or treating team wrote explanations, keep them. Rather than substituting your interpretation of what they meant, save the words they actually used.
In a short account, write what you personally remember. Make clear which details you heard from family or a clinician.
Keep a note of known dates. Along with the procedure date, include when you first heard that an error might have occurred during your treatment.
Bring your questions, including anything you're wondering about the injury's effects. Which documents would help the lawyer assess those concerns is worth asking.
Name what's still missing. When preparing your consultation notes, flag any chart entry mentioned in the hospital's explanation that you haven't yet had a chance to see. Don't guess what that unseen entry says.
A practical route to a case review
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Write a short account
When explaining the procedure, describe your anaesthesia concern and the resulting harm. Use your own words, making clear which details you're not sure you remember accurately.
2
Ask about the deadline immediately
When giving the lawyer relevant dates, also say where you received the treatment. Does anything need attention while the records review is underway? Ask the lawyer.
3
Organize the available records
Keep the chart separate from your personal notes. Before obtaining or sharing missing documents, ask which ones the firm needs and how it wants you to proceed.
4
Request an assessment of the care and its consequences
What would show that the treatment you received fell below the required standard of care? Ask the lawyer. Follow up by asking what connects the alleged error to the harm you want them to assess.
5
Clarify the proposed next step
Ask about the proposed work and charges before you decide whether to retain the firm. Find out who would obtain any medical opinion that's needed, asking the firm to explain clearly who takes responsibility for that.
Limitation periods depend on the province or territory
Limitation periods are set by each province and territory. You can't safely use one Canadian deadline for every anaesthesia claim when those time limits differ. To find the jurisdiction that applies to you, visit the Canadian province and territory pages. A local lawyer can then explain how the rules there affect your claim.
More than the procedure date may matter when considering your claim. Tell the lawyer when you had treatment, including when you later heard any explanation suggesting that an error might have occurred during it. Make it clear from the start if you're asking for help on a family member's behalf.
Ask which time limits apply now, rather than waiting until the hospital gives you its full answer. Whether a records request or complaint affects your limitation period isn't answered here, and neither is the effect of ongoing discussions. That question needs legal advice obtained directly.
When the concern extends beyond anaesthesia
Before asking for help, you don't have to choose the right legal category. If you're worried about treatment elsewhere in the hospital too, you may find questions to ask by reading the Hospital & Nursing Negligence page.
You can also read about Obstetrical Malpractice if the treatment was connected with childbirth. If the baby was injured, you can read about those concerns on the Birth Injury page. The lawyer should hear about the whole event. Don't leave something out of your account just because it doesn't fit one label.
Use online discussions cautiously
Rather than addressing an anaesthesia record, the discussion in r/legaladvicecanada looks at how a patient's presenting complaint was assessed. You can't use that discussion to decide whether someone was negligent in managing your airway or dosing medication during your treatment.
Training and lifestyle are the subjects of the r/MedSchoolCanada discussion about anaesthesia and psychiatry. Don't look there for Canadian monitoring standards. When gathering your treatment documents and the medical opinions used to assess your care, don't mix those materials with comments from the online discussion.
Can I bring a malpractice claim after an anaesthesia error in Canada?
A review of a possible claim needs to look at the care you received, including whether it caused the harm. Questions may arise from a dosing error, with failed airway management or poor monitoring also warranting scrutiny. This page can't tell you whether your treatment was negligent. When asking a lawyer in your province or territory to review what happened, also ask them to explain which supporting medical opinion would be needed.
Does awareness during anaesthesia prove malpractice?
Although you should raise concerns about awareness, that alone doesn't prove the care fell below the standard it was required to meet. Put your memories in writing. You don't need to explain what happened medically yourself. When speaking with the reviewing lawyer, ask how to assess your account alongside the anaesthesia chart, including what else is needed to address causation and harm.
What records should I ask for after a suspected anaesthesia error?
Include the anaesthesia chart in your request for records of the procedure. If you've received a written explanation, keep it apart from notes about your recollections. If you don't know which records show medication doses or monitoring, have the hospital identify the documents you need to request. Rather than waiting for a complete file before making contact, tell the lawyer which records you're still missing.
How long do I have to start an anaesthesia malpractice claim?
There's no single deadline to give you here; your province or territory sets the limitation periods that apply to claims there. After finding your jurisdiction through the Canadian province and territory pages, promptly contact a lawyer who practises there. When giving the treatment date, also tell them when you learned there might have been an error. Ask how those dates affect your time limit.
Can I ask a lawyer for help if I don't know exactly what went wrong?
Yes. Before you've identified a precise error, you can still request a review. When explaining what happened and what you've been told, point out what you still don't understand. What records would let the firm assess the concern you've raised? Ask them. If the hospital hasn't fully explained what happened, it's especially important to separate what you remember yourself from information that other people gave you.
Should I wait for the hospital's explanation before contacting a lawyer?
Don't assume you can wait without putting your limitation period at risk. If you're still waiting for the hospital's explanation or records, tell a lawyer and ask whether any deadline requires attention right away. How a hospital complaint or ongoing discussion affects your claim isn't determined by this page. That question needs an answer from a lawyer in your jurisdiction.
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Jeremy Syrtash
