The Legal Responsibility of Healthcare Facilities in Canada

Also available in French: Responsabilité de l'établissement de santé en droit canadien et Québécois

"Aimed at healthcare administrators, legal practitioners in health law, physicians, medical students, and government employees, this book serves as a handy and compact starting point for anyone interested in exploring the healthcare system in Canada. The book is written in an approachable style, providing concise information on general and specific concepts. This facilitates its use as a quick reference tool."

Reviewed by Alisa Lazear, Manager, Community and Content
Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII)

See Review in 2021 Canadian Law Library Review 46:1 (pages 22-23)

As Catherine Régis explains in her Foreword to this new and timely publication, “The legal and organizational issues that arise from the responsibility of healthcare institutions are many, complex and often intertwined, underscoring the need for detailed and rigorous analyses to fully grasp their significance.”

The Legal Responsibility of Healthcare Facilities in Canada provides the in-depth analyses and expert insight that are required to comprehend this complex and evolving area of the law.

The Information You Need
Healthcare facilities owe a number of legal and contractual obligations to a broad range of individuals – from patients and visitors, to employees and co-contractors. The Legal Responsibility of Healthcare Facilities in Canada examines the “direct” responsibilities of institutions, both in the provision of services and for any errors linked to a third party, equipment or facilities. Uniquely, this work draws on jurisprudence from the civil law of Quebec and the common law from the rest of Canada, and highlights the areas of convergence and divergence of the two distinct legal traditions.

This text addresses not only tort responsibility, but also the circumstances surrounding the criminal liability of facilities. Developments with respect to environmental and linguistic rights have also been included. In addition, The Legal Responsibility of Healthcare Facilities in Canada explores the position of Canadian tribunals regarding the various directives, guides, policies and protocols that focus on medical activities as they inform the norms of medical liability and accountability of healthcare facilities in their day-to-day operations.

Available in both English and French, and with nation-wide application given that it covers the responsibilities of healthcare facilities in Canada’s common law and civil law systems, this volume provides comprehensive content for a broad audience as it:

• Offers a functional guide to healthcare obligations and operations in an accessible, concise format
• Simplifies complex legal concepts for non-legal professionals while still including the information needed for lawyers practising in the areas of medical and health law

An Essential Resource
This concise text offers indispensable guidance for:

• Healthcare administrators who need to mitigate risk and understand the key legal concerns that might arise in the course of their duties
• Physicians and medical students who can rely on it as a practical resource and point of reference for recognizing their own legal obligations and situations where potential liability may arise
• Medical and health law lawyers who are looking for an essential, affordable addition to their library
• In-house counsel in the health sector who regularly deal with staff and clientele, liability and compliance
• Government employees who need to be able to understand the legal and regulatory matters related to healthcare facilities that can be addressed without retaining counsel
• Insurance lawyers, and in particular malpractice lawyers, as it provides an overview of the responsibilities of healthcare providers
• Law students who want to learn about the duties and obligations of healthcare facilities and the legal challenges that arise in the healthcare sector