Canadian law and the liability of the modern hospital for negligence (Part 1).

This article undertakes a critical examination of the way and manner in which Canadian courts have applied the common-law principles of negligence to cases of hospital and medical malpractice. It argues that the courts have construed the relevant doctrines rather conservatively with the result that the majority of patients injured within the precincts of hospitals are unable to obtain recompense. The author observes that the current judicial attitude is inconsistent with the major role now played by the hospital in contemporary health care delivery systems. Using insights from economic analysis of law, he argues that the expansion of hospital liability for negligence is desirable as a matter of public and legal policy. The article concludes with an invitation to the courts to stretch the applicable and elastic legal principles to their limits in the interest of injured patients and, ultimately, of justice.