Canadian Medical Law, 3rd ed.

Barney Sneiderman, John C. Irvine and Philip H. Osborne

Toronto: Carswell; 2003. 766 pp. $85 (cloth) ISBN 0-459-24074-9

Rating: ****

Audience: Health professionals

Content: This text serves as a firm introduction to the basic principles of health law as it applies to negligence (malpractice), liability, compensation, public health and mental health.

Its review of the complex legal issues surrounding reproductive choices (wrongful birth, sterilization, abortion, maternal–fetal conflict), death, organ donation, euthanasia, mental competency and refusal of treatment, life- prolonging treatment, and advance health care directives goes well beyond what one would expect in a didactic text. The descriptions of how the courts have delved into and wrestled with such difficult issues are concise, instructive and fascinating to read.

Strengths: The format chosen by the authors to present the issues is effective and noteworthy. Chapters begin with a summary of actual legal cases that are used to illustrate the issues. The principles visited are reviewed, and comprehensive references to legal and health sources are listed. The writers have succeeded in presenting a teaching text that is interesting, informative and captivating.

Reviewing this text reminds one that there is so much more to health law than malpractice; it opens one's mind to the complexities of our modern law and how those complexities affect the treatment and care of our citizens.

This text is a must-read for any health professional interested in medicolegal matters or health institution risk management.

Limitations: The only limitation — and a minor one indeed — is a reliance on somewhat dated cases in Part I: General Principles. These could have been supplanted by more modern examples from case law that the reader might relate to more easily.

John M. Bonn Emergency Physician and Legal Consultant Brighton, Ont.

This book is available at your local book retailer, or through the publisher at www.carswell.com/law_index.asp

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