What is the standard of care owed to a surgeon who caused nerve damage to a plaintiff's right hand and arm and partial paralysis of his diaphragm?
Alberta, Canada
The following excerpt is from Johnston v. Hader, 2009 ABQB 424 (CanLII):
In Ostby v. Bondar, the plaintiff suffered nerve damage to his right hand and arm and partial paralysis of his diaphragm following a thoracic outlet syndrome release surgery. Justice Bielby found that the surgeon had breached the standard of care owed to the plaintiff. With respect to the issue of whether there was a breach of the standard of care, it was not possible to determine exactly what went wrong during the surgery. Justice Bielby found that the nerve damage occurred from one of two causes. Each cause involved a finding of negligence on the part of the defendant and therefore the plaintiff did not need to establish which action actually caused the negligence.
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