Doctoring in Canada (insurance, lawyer, cost)

[Mouldy Old Schmo]

Are Canadian doctors less likely to be sued for medical malpractice than those in the United States? If so, is it because the doctors are less likely to make mistakes or is it because of differences in the legal system?

[lucknow]

It's far less likely for a Dr. to be sued here than in the USA. My son is a specialist in a high risk area and his malpractise insurance premium is $1200 a year. A US Dr. could pay that per week. Canadian Dr.s are no less likely to make mistakes than American Dr.s in fact it could be very well true that American Dr.s are far more careful because of the higher risk of litigation.
I would say a major reason for the big difference is in the amount of $$$$$ Canadian courts award as damages. I personally have had an experience where the "malpractise" of a Dr. cost me the sight in my right eye. I would most likely have won a court case but I would likely be awarded $10,000 to $15,000 for maybe years of fighting. In the USA I could reasonably expect as much as a million. So, I did not even bother persuing it here, it's not worth it.

[Natnasci]

Originally Posted by lucknow

It's far less likely for a Dr. to be sued here than in the USA. My son is a specialist in a high risk area and his malpractise insurance premium is $1200 a year. A US Dr. could pay that per week. Canadian Dr.s are no less likely to make mistakes than American Dr.s in fact it could be very well true that American Dr.s are far more careful because of the higher risk of litigation.
I would say a major reason for the big difference is in the amount of $$$$$ Canadian courts award as damages. I personally have had an experience where the "malpractise" of a Dr. cost me the sight in my right eye. I would most likely have won a court case but I would likely be awarded $10,000 to $15,000 for maybe years of fighting. In the USA I could reasonably expect as much as a million. So, I did not even bother persuing it here, it's not worth it.

I agree. When my father died in 1998 because of an over prescription of an arthritis drug, we looked into suing. The lawyer told us that it would probably cost $100,000 by the end of it all and we would still probably lose. This was one lawyers view so I have really no idea how accurate it is, but being a medical case he was probably right.