No More Chances for Lost Chances: A Weinribian Response to Weinrib

Sometimes, patients who were negligently misdiagnosed by their doctors are unable to receive any compensation through tort litigation. This has led to a perception of unfairness, igniting arguments in favour of what is known as the “loss of chance” doctrine. Under this doctrine, patients would be able to claim damages for the lost chances of recovery that they suffered due to negligent misdiagnoses. British and Canadian courts have rejected this doctrine in the medical negligence context on the basis that it does not cohere with tort law principles of injury compensation. Professor Ernest Weinrib, in “Causal Uncertainty” (2016) 36:1 Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 1, has offered an interpretation of loss of chance that he claims would maintain the overall coherence of the tort liability system. In this article I offer a critique of his proposal on the basis that it does not achieve the coherence that it promises. My comments are rooted in the commitment to coherence that professor Weinrib has elucidated in his book The Idea of Private Law (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012) so my response to his proposal is, in my view, Weinribian in nature. Drawing on his insights, I comment on how consistency and coherence are related, and how and why these formal values matter to tort law theory and practice. Parfois, des patients, ayant été négligemment mal diagnostiqués par leur médecin, ne sont pas capables d’obtenir un dédommagement avec une action en responsabilité délictuelle. Ces situations ont mené à la perception d’une injustice, amenant ainsi des arguments en faveur de la théorie de la perte de chance. Sous cette théorie, les patients victimes d’erreurs négligentes de diagnostic pourraient réclamer des dommages- intérêts pour la perte de chance de guérison subie. Les tribunaux britanniques et canadiens ont rejeté cette théorie dans le contexte de la négligence médicale parce qu’elle n’est pas cohérente avec les principes d’indemnisation du droit de la responsabilité délictuelle. Le Professeur Ernest Weinrib, ...