When will a medical professional be found to be negligent in a negligence action?

When a medical professional acts in accordance with a recognized and acceptable practice of the profession, he or she will not be found to be negligent. The standard is one of a prudent and diligent medical professional in similar circumstances. In the case of a specialist, 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. The conduct of the physician is judged in light of the knowledge that ought to have been possessed at the time of the alleged negligence. Courts must not, with the benefit of hindsight, judge too harshly doctors who act in accordance with prevailing standards of professional knowledge, and should be careful not to rely upon the perfect vision afforded by hindsight. See ter Neuzen v. Korn, 1995 CanLII 72 (SCC), [1995] 3 S.C.R. 674 at paras. 33-34; and Wilson v. Swanson, 1956 CanLII 1 (SCC), [1956] S.C.R. 804 at pp. 812-813.