Fridays with Rogers Partners

This morning at our weekly firm meeting, we discussed the case of Andrews et. al v. Pattison, 2021 ONSC 4757. Rebecca Moore recently wrote a detailed article about this case. The plaintiffs sued a doctor, alleging medical malpractice. On a summary judgment motion, the action was dismissed because the plaintiffs did not meet the limitation period.

The takeaways from the case are that determining when a claim has been discovered is a fact-based inquiry and that the question is whether the prospective plaintiff knows enough facts on which to base an allegation of negligence against the defendant. Certainty is not required. If the plaintiff has enough facts, then the claim has been “discovered” and the limitation period begins to run. Additional information will support the claim and assess the risk of proceeding, but it is not needed to discover the claim.