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 34 firms that show misdiagnosis work on our 31 city lists in Canada, Paul Cahill scores highest on malpractice focus, published results, client reviews and experience, followed by Sommers Roth & Elmaleh and Gluckstein LLP. 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)
Best for: Diagnosis claims involving emergency care
Paul Cahill - Medical Malpractice Lawyer has published a successful trial verdict against an emergency room physician. The case involved the death of a mother aged 34.
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
The result Sommers Roth & Elmaleh publishes directly concerns missed diagnosis. After a family physician failed to provide conventional pregnancy screening and monitoring, it reports over $6 million over a lifetime.
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
Gluckstein Lawyers has been operating since 1962. That's a long history for a firm. Its site lists misdiagnosis among its medical negligence niches; senior counsel Richard Halpern and managing partner Charles E.
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
Best for: Clients seeking appellate litigation experience
The Court of Appeal upheld a medical malpractice success that Thomson Rogers LLP reports in Denman v. Radovanovic, 2024 ONCA 276. That case was litigated. It doesn't tell you how your own misdiagnosis claim might turn out.
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
Down syndrome misdiagnosis lawyers by province
The rules change from one province to the next, so the lawyers near you are the ones to call.
Medical malpractice may be worth looking into if parents received a wrong prenatal result or never received it at all. You still need to show negligence. To find out whether an error caused legally recognised harm, a review must compare what happened with the care that should have been provided. You'll need the prenatal chart and original test report to start. An unexpected diagnosis doesn't, on its own, mean someone was at fault.
What a Down syndrome misdiagnosis claim concerns
An extra chromosome causes Down syndrome. This page looks at prenatal screening or diagnostic testing that missed the condition, as well as results that never made it to the parents. For a child's medical needs, look elsewhere.
The review needs to look at your pregnancy care. Find out what the report actually said, and ask which test was discussed. Ask what happened next if the result needed discussion or a closer look.
Your child's diagnosis is separate from the testing issue. A prenatal care claim doesn't mean that a testing error caused your child's Down syndrome. Whoever reviews the claim needs to check what an error changed about information or decisions during pregnancy. Whether your province or territory's law recognises the harm that followed also needs to be assessed.
Find the point where the information changed
By “Misdiagnosis”, families may mean quite different things. If you're questioning a negative result, your questions may differ from those of a family who found an undiscussed report. What happened will help you decide which questions to ask about the chart.
Questions to ask about the prenatal testing record
Concern
Record to identify
Question for review
A result described as negative
The original report and the note explaining it
Did the explanation match what the report said?
A result that wasn't communicated
The report and any documented contact with the parents
Who received it, and what happened afterwards?
Uncertainty about the test performed
The test request and the corresponding report
Was this the test the family understood was being arranged?
Conflicting accounts of a conversation
The appointment note and the family's own recollection
What was documented, and what remains disputed?
You haven't proved fault by asking. A report might not match what you remember hearing, but that difference doesn't tell you what happened. Before deciding what a label such as “normal” or “negative.” means, ask to see the report's actual wording.
Warning signs that deserve clarification
For a family considering a claim, the first warning sign is often a question about testing or results that nobody has answered. These aren't physical signs you can use to diagnose Down syndrome.
The written report seems to say something different from what you remember being told.
There's a result in the chart, but you don't remember receiving it.
When you read the record, you can't identify the test ordered or completed.
Even after asking about a result, you still haven't had anyone explain what it meant.
You don't need special wording to explain your questions. “I don't remember that call” doesn't mean the same thing as “the call never happened.” Keeping that difference clear lets you use the records to work out what happened without discounting what you remember experiencing.
An unexpected diagnosis isn't enough to establish malpractice
A legal review needs more than an upsetting outcome. Whoever reviews the claim must show how a departure from the standard of care caused harm. Your province or territory sets the rules for that review, and what happened matters to how they apply.
The standard of care
First, ask what care you should have received at the time. A lawyer can help decide what needs reviewing when you're worried about the testing or how someone handled a result. A later diagnosis won't tell you what care was needed.
Bring what you received so the lawyer can read it. When you tell the lawyer you remember a clinician calling a result certain, distinguish that memory from what's written in the appointment note.
Causation
To assess causation, ask what the alleged error changed. Reviewing a prenatal testing claim may mean going carefully through what parents were told, with close attention to when they received that information. Finding an error in the record doesn't, by itself, show that a decision changed.
This may hit close to home. You can describe your family's experience in your first conversation without trying to put it into legal language. Explain what you understood during pregnancy first, then describe what you think you would have asked or considered if you'd been given different information.
Harm
To assess the claimed harm, the lawyer must check whether the law recognises it and links it to the alleged error. You can't necessarily recover an expense or consequence just because it followed the diagnosis.
Keep records of any losses you want to discuss. Let the lawyer explain which ones matter; you don't have to sort that out yourself.
Prepare for a review without trying to prove the case yourself
Build a clear account of the prenatal care
1
Write a short chronology
Note when someone first discussed testing. As you add the appointments you remember, include the date you learned the diagnosis. If you're unsure of a date, label it approximate rather than guessing.
2
Identify the original records
To request the prenatal chart and test reports, ask the clinic or hospital what to do. Have copies already? Note where each one came from, and keep the original files.
3
Preserve communications
If messages concern testing or results, save them. When writing down memories of conversations, keep them separate and note who attended and what you understood then.
4
Describe the concern plainly
If you think a result was wrong, explain that, or say how its explanation or delivery went wrong. To describe what you're unsure about, you don't need a legal label.
5
Ask a local lawyer about timing
To check possible deadlines and the records needed for review, speak with a lawyer in your province or territory. Before your file is complete, ask about the limitation period.
Your notes should stay separate from the medical records. You'll then be able to distinguish what someone recorded during care from what you remember now.
Limitation periods depend on where the claim belongs
Each province and territory sets its own limitation periods. If you're considering a prenatal testing claim, don't rely on one deadline for all of Canada. After visiting our Canadian province and territory pages, speak with a lawyer to find out how the rules apply to what happened to you.
You can't work out your deadline from the birth date alone. Tell the lawyer when you had the testing, then explain when you first learned something that made you question the care you received. If you later found a report you hadn't seen before, mention it.
Choose the page that matches the alleged error
If you have prenatal testing questions, they may also concern obstetrical malpractice. The hospital and nursing negligence page may help you describe what went wrong if you're questioning the way a hospital handled results or communications.
Don't confuse an alleged injury during delivery with prenatal testing for Down syndrome. If you're questioning the care your family received during the birth itself, the birth injury page is the page to read. If you think the concerns are connected, explain both to the lawyer.
Use online accounts cautiously
You'll sometimes see numerical results in pregnancy forums where parents describe their testing experiences. Don't treat those accounts as test-accuracy data or use them to guide your pregnancy. Your report can't be explained by another parent's figure.
Legal discussions need the same caution as those accounts. Even if a commenter says they work in medical-malpractice insurance, they aren't giving you advice about your claim. Your records and advice from a lawyer practising in the relevant Canadian jurisdiction can help you assess what to do next.
Does a missed prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome mean there was malpractice?
No. Negligence isn't established just because a diagnosis was unexpected. To assess whether an alleged error caused legally recognised harm, the review must examine the care provided at the time. If you received an explanation, bring it with your original test report. For the legal questions, speak with a lawyer in your province or territory.
What if the prenatal result was never communicated to us?
Start by finding the report and any record showing communication about it. When speaking with the lawyer, explain when you first saw the result and what you recall being told during pregnancy. If a conversation is missing, that may need investigating. To establish a claim, though, the legal review needs more than that: it must also examine what the alleged failure changed.
What records should I bring to a lawyer?
If you have the prenatal chart and original test reports, bring them along. As you save messages about results, write a short timeline of conversations you remember. Keep the medical records distinct from those labelled recollections. Tell the lawyer what's missing if you don't yet have the full file. Before waiting for everything else, ask about deadlines.
How long do I have to bring a claim in Canada?
Limitation periods are set by each province and territory. Canadian claims don't all share a single deadline. After visiting our province and territory pages, discuss the dates with a lawyer. Neither the birth date alone nor a records request should be assumed to determine or change the clock.
Did a prenatal testing error cause my child's Down syndrome?
If you're considering a prenatal testing claim, don't assume the alleged error caused the condition. To review it, someone must examine the information provided during pregnancy and whether an error changed decisions in a legally recognised way. For medical questions about the diagnosis, speak with your child's care team. Take the separate legal questions to a local lawyer.
Can another parent's screening result explain what happened in my pregnancy?
No. Because an online account describes someone else's experience, it can't describe your report or the care you received. To understand your result's wording, ask your clinician to explain it. Keep both accounts if that explanation differs from what you heard during pregnancy, and discuss the difference with a lawyer in your province or territory.
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Jeremy Syrtash
