Lawyers for Nurses

As trusted nursing lawyers, we have extensive experience representing registered nurses, registered practical nurses and nurse practitioners in all regulatory, litigation, clinical and risk issues, including those with the College of Nurses of Ontario, the Human Rights Tribunal and the Information and Privacy Commissioner. We help RNs, RPNs and NPs navigate the legal landscape governing nursing in Ontario, including under the Nursing Act.

If you have a complaint, investigation or disciplinary matter before the CNO, it is important to get legal advice from a nursing complaint lawyer or nursing discipline lawyer to evaluate your risk and help you manage your response. This is especially important because most forms of remediation ordered by the CNO, including a course, practice monitoring or a caution, will remain on a nurse’s public Register indefinitely. We are nursing attorneys who assist routinely on all types of CNO matters, including clinical issues, IPAC issues, medication issues, communication issues, recordkeeping issues and boundary violations/sexual abuse allegations.

We regularly work with insurance companies and nursing professional associations, but also routinely represent nurses directly who do not have coverage for regulatory matters. We typically offer our clients the choice of an hourly rate or flat fee for these regulatory matters, especially for nursing complaints. We represent nurses across the province of Ontario, including in Toronto and the GTA, Ottawa, Hamilton, Kitchener, London, Brampton, Barrie, Kingston and Thunder Bay.

Legal Services for Nurses

  • Responding on behalf of nurses to CNO patient complaints before the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee (“ICRC”) of the CNO, either through the formal complaints process or Alternative Dispute Resolution process;

  • Facilitating proactive courses or Specific Continuing Education or Remediation Programs (“SCERP”) for nurses ordered by the CNO;

  • Responding for nurses to CNO section 75 investigations before the ICRC;

  • Responding to disciplinary matters and allegations of professional misconduct for nurses before the Discipline Committee of the CNO;

  • Responding to registration issues for nurses before the Registration Committee of the CNO or guiding nurses on their application for licensure in other provinces/countries;

  • Defending nursing malpractice lawsuits;

  • Defending allegations for nursing students on testing irregularity or cheating on the NCLEX exam;

  • Responding to appeals and judicial reviews for nurses before the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board (“HPARB”), the Divisional Court of Ontario or the Court of Appeal for Ontario;

  • Responding to complaints made against nurses and nurse-led clinics to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario regarding discrimination and human rights violations;

  • Responding to complaints against nurses and nurse-led clinics before the Information and Privacy Commissioner;

  • Responding on behalf of nurses to CNO Fitness to Practice matters;

  • Assisting nurses in managing a challenging patient, including in situations of harassment or assault;

  • Navigating clinical issues for nurses, including public health inquiries, infection prevention and control (“IPAC”) issues, privacy breaches, nursing malpractice allegations, recordkeeping issues and patient demands;

  • Assisting nurses in responding to the annual CNO report regarding past criminal and regulatory issues; and

  • Representing nurses in workplace investigations.

Need help with any of the above? We are nursing attorneys so don’t hesitate to contact John McIntyre for a free consultation at john@mcintyre-szabo.com or through the website here.