Those who hold themselves out to the public as possessing superior skill knowledge and technical expertise will be held to a higher standard of care commensurate with that representation and the reliance thereby engendered. In professions such as law and accounting where much of the work entails the provision of expert advice, the cause of action is negligent misrepresentation, the elements of which will be studied later.
Risks materialise and treatments can fail without necessarily denoting absence of due care.
In the case of a specialist the doctor s behaviour must be assessed in light of the conduct of other ordinary specialists who possess a reasonable level of knowledge, competence and skill expected of specialists in Canada , in that field. At one time, the locality rule was followed which set a lower standard of care of reasonable competence was set for doctors who practiced is relative isolation in rural or remote locations compared to those working in urban areas where access to consultants was better. Otherwise, the physician is under a duty to disclose he nature of the proposed operation, its gravity, any material risks, and any special or unusual risks attendant upon the perfomance of the operation Hopp v Lepp.