What is the test for a doctor to conduct his practice in accordance with the conduct of an ordinary professional?

British Columbia, Canada


The following excerpt is from Morrow v. Outerbridge, 2009 BCSC 433 (CanLII):

This principle was affirmed in ter Neuzen v. Korn, 1995 CanLII 72 (SCC), [1995] 3 S.C.R. 674 at para. 33, 127 B.C.L.R. (4th) 577 where McLachlin J. (as she then was) said this: It is well settled that physicians have a duty to conduct their practice in accordance with the conduct of a prudent and diligent doctor in the same circumstances. In the case of a specialist, such as a gynaecologist and obstetrician, the doctor’s behaviour must be assessed in light of the conduct of other ordinary specialists, who possess a reasonable level of knowledge, competence and skill expected of professionals in Canada, in that field. A specialist, such as the respondent, who holds himself out as possessing a special degree of skill and knowledge, must exercise the degree of skill of an average specialist in his field. [citations omitted].

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