What are the elements required to prove negligence in the context of medical malpractice?

Where there is an allegation of medical negligence, the plaintiff must clearly and cogently satisfy the elements required to prove negligence. In ter Neuzen v. Korn, 1995 CanLII 72 (SCC), [1995] 3 S.C.R. 674 the court discussed in detail the law of medical negligence. Sopinka J., speaking for the court on this point, stated at para. 38: It is generally accepted that when a doctor acts in accordance with a recognized and respectable practice of the profession, he or she will not be found to be negligent. This is because courts do not ordinarily have the expertise to tell professionals that they are not behaving appropriately in their field. In a sense, the medical profession as a whole is assumed to have adopted procedures which are in the best interests of patients and are not inherently negligent. The court held at para. 51: …as a general rule, where a procedure involves difficult or uncertain questions of medical treatment or complex, scientific or highly technical matters that are beyond the ordinary experience and understanding of a judge or jury, it will not be open to find a standard medical practice negligent.