Case information
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39049
Karen Armstrong v. Colin Ward
(Ontario) (Civil) (By Leave)
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-03-05 | Appeal closed | |
| 2021-02-09 | Transcript received, 84 pages | |
| 2021-01-19 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2021-01-19 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2021-01-18 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, CJ Abe Mo Ka Côt Br Row, The appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Number C65404, 2019 ONCA 963, dated December 6, 2019, was heard on January 18, 2021, and the Court on that day delivered the following judgment orally: THE CHIEF JUSTICE — The appeal is allowed for the reasons of Justice van Rensburg, with costs throughout. The judgment of the Court of Appeal is set aside and the trial judgment is restored. Allowed, with costs |
|
| 2021-01-18 |
Hearing of the appeal, 2021-01-18, CJ Abe Mo Ka Côt Br Row Judgment rendered |
|
| 2021-01-14 | Respondent's condensed book, (Book Form), (Printed version filed on 2021-01-14) | Colin Ward |
| 2021-01-14 | Appellant's condensed book, (Book Form), (Electronic version filed on 2021-01-14) | Karen Armstrong |
| 2021-01-14 | Notice of Remote Participation by a Judge of the Supreme Court of Canada sent to all parties | |
| 2021-01-14 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines - Rule 95 - (Leave granted) | |
| 2021-01-13 | Intervener's condensed book, (Book Form), (Printed version filed on 2021-01-13) | Ontario Trial Lawyers' Association |
| 2021-01-08 | Appellant's book of authorities, (Book Form), Completed on: 2021-01-08 | Karen Armstrong |
| 2021-01-04 | Notice of appearance, (Letter Form), Mark Veneziano and Jaan Lilles will appear before the court, and will present oral arguments. | Colin Ward |
| 2020-12-16 | Notice of appearance, (Letter Form), Ryan Breedon will appear before the court, and will present oral arguments. | Karen Armstrong |
| 2020-12-16 | Notice of appearance, (Letter Form), Anna Marrison will appear before the court, and will present oral arguments. | Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada |
| 2020-12-16 | Notice of appearance, (Letter Form), Barbara Legate will appear before the Court, and will present oral arguments. | Ontario Trial Lawyers' Association |
| 2020-12-11 | Intervener's book of authorities, (Book Form), Completed on: 2020-12-11, (Printed version due on 2020-12-18) | Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada |
| 2020-12-11 | Intervener's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2020-12-11, (Printed version filed on 2020-12-11) | Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada |
| 2020-12-10 | Intervener's book of authorities, (Book Form), Completed on: 2020-12-10, (Printed version filed on 2020-12-11) | Ontario Trial Lawyers' Association |
| 2020-12-10 | Intervener's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2020-12-10, (Printed version filed on 2020-12-11) | Ontario Trial Lawyers' Association |
| 2020-11-24 | Notice of hearing sent to parties | |
| 2020-11-09 | Certificate of counsel (attesting to record), (Letter Form) | Colin Ward |
| 2020-11-09 | Respondent's book of authorities, (Book Form), Completed on: 2020-11-09 | Colin Ward |
| 2020-11-09 | Respondent's record, (Book Form), Completed on: 2020-11-09 | Colin Ward |
| 2020-11-09 | Respondent's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2020-11-09 | Colin Ward |
| 2020-11-05 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Leave granted), the parties. Tentatively scheduled for January 18, 2021. | |
| 2020-11-05 |
Appeal hearing scheduled, 2021-01-18 Judgment rendered |
|
| 2020-10-29 | Order on motion for leave to intervene, by Justice Brown (by email) | |
| 2020-10-29 |
Decision on the motion for leave to intervene, Br, UPON APPLICATION by the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association and the Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada for leave to intervene in the above appeal; AND THE MATERIAL FILED having been read; IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT: The motions for leave to intervene are granted and the said two (2) interveners shall be entitled to serve and file a factum not to exceed ten (10) pages in length on or before December 11, 2020. The said two (2) interveners are granted permission to present oral argument not exceeding five (5) minutes at the hearing of the appeal. The interveners are not entitled to raise new issues or to adduce further evidence or otherwise to supplement the record of the parties. Pursuant to Rule 59(1)(a) of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada, the interveners shall pay to the appellant and the respondent any additional disbursements resulting from their interventions. Granted |
|
| 2020-10-29 | Submission of motion for leave to intervene, (2 motions), Br | |
| 2020-10-23 | Response to the motion for leave to intervene, Completed on: 2020-10-23 | Colin Ward |
| 2020-10-21 | Response to the motion for leave to intervene, (OTLA), Completed on: 2020-10-21 | Karen Armstrong |
| 2020-10-13 | Notice of name | Ontario Trial Lawyers' Association |
| 2020-10-13 | Motion for leave to intervene, (Book Form), Filing fee to be paid, Incomplete, (Printed version filed on 2020-10-22) | Ontario Trial Lawyers' Association |
| 2020-09-24 | Response to the motion for leave to intervene, Completed on: 2020-10-20 | Karen Armstrong |
| 2020-09-16 | Notice of name | Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada |
| 2020-09-16 | Motion for leave to intervene, (Book Form), Filing fee to be paid when possible, Incomplete | Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada |
| 2020-08-19 | Certificate of counsel (attesting to record), (Letter Form) | Karen Armstrong |
| 2020-08-19 | Appellant's book of authorities, (Book Form), Completed on: 2020-08-19, (Printed version filed on 2020-11-06) | Karen Armstrong |
| 2020-08-19 | Appellant's record, (Book Form), (2 volumes), Completed on: 2020-08-19, (Printed version filed on 2020-11-06) | Karen Armstrong |
| 2020-08-19 | Appellant's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2020-08-19, (Printed version filed on 2020-11-06) | Karen Armstrong |
| 2020-06-24 | Notice of appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2020-06-24 | Karen Armstrong |
| 2020-05-29 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2020-05-29 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2020-05-28 |
Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Number C65404, 2019 ONCA 963, dated December 6, 2019, is granted with costs in the cause. Granted, with costs in the cause |
|
| 2020-04-27 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, for consideration by the Court | |
| 2020-03-19 | Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, (Book Form), Completed on: 2020-03-19, (Printed version filed on 2020-03-19) | Karen Armstrong |
| 2020-03-09 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), (Printed version filed on 2020-03-09) | Colin Ward |
| 2020-03-09 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2020-03-09, (Printed version filed on 2020-03-09) | Colin Ward |
| 2020-02-07 | Letter acknowledging receipt of an incomplete application for leave to appeal, FILE OPENED 2020-02-07 | |
| 2020-02-03 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), 23A | Karen Armstrong |
| 2020-02-03 | Application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), required: CA Order (rec'd 2020/04/15), Completed on: 2020-04-15 | Karen Armstrong |
Parties
Please note that in the case of closed files, the “Status” column reflects the status of the parties at the time of the proceedings. For more information about the proceedings and about the dates when the file was open, please consult the docket of the case in question.
Main parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Armstrong, Karen | Appellant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Ward, Colin | Respondent | Active |
Other parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada | Intervener | Active |
| Ontario Trial Lawyers' Association | Intervener | Active |
Counsel
Party: Armstrong, Karen
Counsel
Ryan Breedon
301-595 Bay Street
P.O. Box 53
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 2C2
Telephone: (416) 408-4252
FAX: (416) 408-4235
Email: marin@gluckstein.com
Agent
100- 340 Gilmour Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0R3
Telephone: (613) 695-8855 Ext: 102
FAX: (613) 695-8580
Email: mfmajor@supremeadvocacy.ca
Party: Ward, Colin
Counsel
Sean Lewis
Mark Veneziano
Jaan Lilles
130 Adelaide Street West
Suite 2600
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 3P5
Telephone: (416) 865-2929
FAX: (416) 865-3711
Email: rslaght@litigate.com
Agent
160 Elgin Street
Suite 2600
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 786-8695
FAX: (613) 788-3509
Email: lynne.watt@gowlingwlg.com
Party: Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada
Counsel
Ewa Krajewska
John McIntyre
22 Adelaide Street West
Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 4E3
Telephone: (416) 367-6674
FAX: (416) 367-6749
Email: amarrison@blg.com
Agent
World Exchange Plaza
100 Queen Street, suite 1300
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1J9
Telephone: (613) 787-3562
FAX: (613) 230-8842
Email: neffendi@blg.com
Party: Ontario Trial Lawyers' Association
Counsel
Barbara Legate
10800 Yonge Street
Richmond Hill, Ontario
L4C 3E4
Telephone: (905) 224-3242
FAX: (905) 884-5445
Email: rbohm@blackburnlawyers.ca
Agent
100- 340 Gilmour Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0R3
Telephone: (613) 695-8855 Ext: 102
FAX: (613) 695-8580
Email: mfmajor@supremeadvocacy.ca
Summary
Keywords
Torts - Negligence - Standard of care - Appeals - Standard of review - Did the trial judge err by articulating the standard of care in terms of goals rather than steps? - Did the trial judge err by failing to consider and exclude non-negligent causes of the appellant’s injury? - Did the trial judge err by considering factual causation before determining that Dr. Ward breached the standard of care? - Did the trial judge err by failing to find that Dr. Ward met the standard of care? - Did the Court of Appeal apply the correct standard of review to the trial judge’s decision?
Summary
Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.
In February 2010, Dr. Ward removed Ms. Armstrong’s colon using laparoscopic surgery. The surgery appeared to have been uneventful and there was no sign that Ms. Armstrong had been injured. Over the next several weeks, however, she developed increasingly more concerning post-operative abdominal pain. A CT scan revealed that her ureter was blocked with scar tissue, causing severe damage to her left kidney. She was required to undergo a second surgery to remove her kidney in October 2010. She sued Dr. Ward, alleging that he caused the scar tissue that formed the blockage in her ureter by improperly using a cauterizing device during the colectomy, known as a LigaSure. Ms. Armstrong contended that Dr. Ward negligently touched or came within two millimetres of her ureter with the LigaSure during the colectomy procedure, causing a thermal injury. The trial judge held that Dr. Ward was liable in negligence for the damage caused to Ms. Armstrong’s ureter. This decision was overturned on appeal.
Lower court rulings
Ontario Superior Court of Justice
2018 ONSC 2439, CV-15-0614
Respondent found to be liable in negligence for applicant’s injuries
Court of Appeal for Ontario
2019 ONCA 963, C65404
Respondent’s appeal granted; Applicant’s action dismissed
Memorandums of argument on application for leave to appeal
The memorandums of argument on an application for leave to appeal will be posted here 30 days after leave to appeal has been granted unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of the memorandum by filing out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a memorandum of argument or want to use a memorandum of argument, please contact the author of the memorandum of argument directly. Their name appears at the end of the memorandum of argument. The contact information for counsel is found in the “Counsel” tab of this page.
Downloadable PDFs
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Related links
Factums on appeal
The factums of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here at least 2 weeks before the hearing unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of factums by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a factum or want permission to use a factum, please contact the author of the factum directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each factum.
Downloadable PDFs
Not available