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
Obstetric malpractice lawyers by province
The rules change from one province to the next, so the lawyers near you are the ones to call.
When negligent care during pregnancy, labour or after birth harms the mother or baby, or both, that's obstetrical malpractice. Malpractice isn't proved by a difficult delivery. An unexpected injury alone doesn't prove it either, because the care must have fallen below the applicable standard and caused harm. If what happened worries you, collect the records you have, then contact a lawyer where you received care, in that province or territory.
Before you've answered that question, you can still ask for help. Begin by recalling the concern you raised and the team's reply, then explain what happened after that. Keep documented facts apart from questions still unanswered. You're reading general information, not legal advice.
What obstetrical malpractice covers
Along with pregnancy and labour, obstetrical care includes the postpartum period (the time after birth). An obstetrician may be involved in your concern, or another member of the care team. Rather than focusing on someone's job title, look at the particular decision you're questioning, something they did or didn't do.
If care should have been given differently, that may be an error, put simply. A concern may have gone unaddressed, or someone may have made a decision too late. A review can start from there. Before treating that as negligence, a lawyer needs to connect the care you question with the harm you've described.
The birth injury page is also available if you're concerned about an injury to your baby. Don't leave out your experience. Harm to the mother falls within obstetrical malpractice too, not just harm to the baby.
How a care concern comes to light
After leaving hospital, you may wonder how an injury happened or why care came when it did. When you later read the chart, it might not match what you remember. You needn't settle that difference yourself; make a note of it.
If you have a current medical concern, separate it from questions about earlier care. Ask a health-care professional to assess the condition if you're worried about the mother or baby now. Whether a symptom needs treatment isn't something a legal review can tell you.
Describe how the concern unfolded when you speak with a lawyer. Include what you noticed, along with what you told the team. If you remember a response, write it down, including explanations for waiting or for changing the plan. If you can't recall the exact words, don't put reconstructed words in quotation marks, and make any gaps in your memory clear.
When a bad outcome may be malpractice
You deserve an injury explained. Negligent care, though, isn't proved by that injury alone. When assessing malpractice, a lawyer looks at the care team's actions and whether their care caused the injury.
To assess the standard of care, the question is whether the care met the standard those circumstances required. If a decision concerns you, your account can identify it. Because your account alone can't establish the medical standard, ask how the lawyer would assess it and whether an expert report would be needed.
The connection to the injury
To establish causation, the alleged failure in care must be linked to the harm. That question stands apart. Even if a review finds a problem with care, the lawyer must still assess whether it caused the injury you want reviewed.
Be as clear as you can about the concern. If all you say is that delivery went badly, explain instead which decision you want reviewed and what injury you believe followed. Don't settle on a medical explanation before assessment.
The harm
Describe how things changed after the care. If possible, use the medical terms recorded in your records, keeping a confirmed diagnosis apart from anything you're still asking clinicians to explain. Have injury documents ready. Describe the injury's effect on daily life in a separate note.
Getting an anonymous opinion doesn't assess your case. Although a discussion in r/canadianlaw raises negligence and evidence of harm, the commenters haven't read your obstetrical records. Whether you have a claim isn't something a forum response can establish, either way.
Prepare a record of what happened
Begin by writing something short. If a long account mixes memories with assumptions, it's less useful than an account that makes the gaps clear. Ask a lawyer what other records to request, and hold onto the original documents you already have.
Before your first legal conversation
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Write a dated account
Describe the care as you remember it, in that order. If you know who was present, note that, and make clear when times are approximate. Leave names or roles blank rather than guessing.
2
Gather the documents you have
If you already have chart pages or delivery notes, set them aside with any correspondence about your concerns. So the lawyer can distinguish your notes from the care record, keep those notes apart from the documents.
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Describe the injury
Make clear whose care concerns you: the mother's, the baby's or both. After noting any diagnosis a clinician recorded, list the questions you haven't had answered. Coming up with the medical explanation isn't something you need to do yourself.
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Ask about the legal assessment
To assess the standard of care and causation, what does the lawyer need? During that first conversation, ask about the applicable limitation period. Ask before you've collected every document, not afterwards.
If your memory differs, don't alter the record. When a chart entry seems wrong, identify it and explain what makes you question it. So the lawyer can look at both, keep the chart available alongside your account.
Deadlines depend on the province or territory
Limitation periods are set separately by each province and territory. You can't safely apply one Canadian deadline to every concern about obstetrical malpractice. For information about the relevant jurisdiction, see the province and territory pages. To understand how those rules apply to you, ask a lawyer there.
When you bring the dates you know, include the care dates and when an injury first began to concern you. If a child's possible claim is involved, mention it. Don't assume a rule you've heard about elsewhere applies to your family.
Choosing a lawyer for the review
Read the firm's description of the work it takes on. If you're questioning midwife care, a page about midwife negligence may help; a page about obstetrical errors is also relevant. Whether the firm will accept your matter isn't answered by either page.
For obstetrical error claims, Gluckstein Lawyers advertises a free consultation; you can find its published contact number below. Ask what the consultation covers before sending your records. If there's a further assessment, discuss its costs directly with the firm.
Gluckstein Lawyers' published toll-free number for an obstetrical error consultation
Rather than asking for a prediction of success, use the conversation to learn what would happen next. Does the firm handle concerns involving the kind of care you received? Before it decides whether to proceed, ask what information the firm needs.
How do I request the records, and which ones should I get?
To assess the standard of care, what do you need to know?
To assess whether this care caused the injury, what would you do?
In my situation, what's the applicable limitation period?
If the review continues, what fees or other costs would I face?
What to do next
After describing your main concern in a few sentences, add the care location and whatever dates you know. In that province or territory, contact a lawyer who handles medical negligence. If you haven't got the chart yet, tell them early.
You don't have to accuse anyone of negligence to ask for a review. If you want to know whether the care met the applicable standard and whether a failure caused harm, you can explain that. For questions about current treatment, speak to the health-care team.
Can you sue a doctor in Canada for obstetrical negligence?
You may have a negligence claim. Before a poor outcome can be considered malpractice, the applicable standard of care must be assessed, along with whether a failure caused harm. To understand how those questions apply to you, speak with a lawyer where the care took place, in that province or territory, and ask about the limitation period.
How often do obstetricians get sued in Canada?
This page doesn't give a Canadian lawsuit-frequency figure. Even if a firm lists obstetrical errors among its practice areas, that doesn't show how often obstetricians face lawsuits. When considering your concern, look at the chart's contents and the injury you want someone to review. A profession-wide rate shouldn't be taken as a guide to your own case.
Can you sue over negligent care during pregnancy?
Concerns about prenatal care fall within obstetrical malpractice. Because a review can go beyond delivery, explain which care concerns you, along with the harm you believe followed. To assess the claim, the lawyer must consider whether the care fell below the applicable standard and caused injury. Ask promptly about the limitation period, bringing whatever dates you know.
Can you bring a negligence claim for care after childbirth?
Obstetrical malpractice can involve postpartum care. Rather than simply looking at when the concern arose, whether you have a claim turns on the care and its connection to the harm. If the mother was injured, describe that separately from any injury to the baby. To have what happened assessed and the applicable rules explained, speak with a lawyer in the relevant province or territory.
Can you sue for negligence if you don't yet have the medical records?
Before you've gathered every record, you can speak with a lawyer for an initial conversation. Once you've described your memories and the documents you have, ask which other records the lawyer needs to assess the matter. While you're collecting paperwork, don't delay asking about the limitation period. Ask the lawyer to explain how the timing rules apply.
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Jeremy Syrtash
