Top court sides with two doctors in Quebec malpractice case

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada has sided with two doctors in a Quebec malpractice case, overturning an appeal court finding against them.

The case deals with the death of Marc Edmond, a healthy non-smoker who nevertheless was diagnosed with lung cancer in January 2007 and died in June 2008.

His partner, Cathie St-Germain, won a $70,000 judgment after she sued Dr. Albert Benhaim and Dr. Michael O’Donovan, saying they were negligent in delaying the cancer diagnosis after finding a shadow on an X-ray in late 2005.

The trial judge agreed there was negligence in not exploring the X-ray shadow earlier, but relied on expert testimony to conclude that the illness was so advanced even at that stage that the negligence did not contribute to Edmond’s death.