Health Professionals provide many services to people in Ontario. Health professionals include: doctors, nurses, dentists, optometrists, physiotherapists, chiropractors, etc. They may work in a hospital, another health care facility, a public clinic or a private medical office. Their work is regulated by laws and by their governing bodies.
- If you have a concern about the way that a health professional has treated you, there are several different options, including:
- the governing organizations have complaints policies.
- Human Rights laws also apply to the services of health professionals (for more information about Human Rights laws in Ontario, please visit our Human Rights page: www.halco.org/areas-of-law/human-rights).
- You may be able to sue the health professional.
There are different rules and time limits for each option so you should get legal advice right away.
If you are living with HIV in Ontario, you can contact us for free legal advice.
If you are living in Ontario but you are not living with HIV:
- You can contact the Human Rights Legal Support Centre www.hrlsc.on.ca/en/welcome. You can also contact your local community legal clinic to find out about services in your community.
- The Law Society Referral Service (LSRS) of the Law Society of Ontario is an on-line service that provides a referral to a lawyer or paralegal for an in-person or phone consultation of up to 30 minutes at no charge: https://lsrs.lso.ca/lsrs/welcome. The LSRS crisis telephone for people in custody, in crisis, in a shelter or in a remote community without internet access is 416-947-5255 or toll-free 1-855-947-5255, Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm. For more information please see the Law Society Referral Service information on the Law Society of Ontario website: https://lsrs.lso.ca/lsrs/welcome. The Law Society of Ontario was formerly the Law Society of Upper Canada.