JWTruth.orgDocumented comparison resource
Search

Blood doctrine · Claim record

In Malette v. Shulman (1990) the Ontario Court of Appeal held that a doctor who transfused an unconscious Witness despite her signed card committed battery, upholding $20,000 damages and affirming a competent adult's right to refuse.

Claim ID claim-blood-case-maletteConcerns 30 March 1990Outcome
Outcome · 30 March 1990 Supported

In Malette v. Shulman (1990) the Ontario Court of Appeal held that a doctor who transfused an unconscious Witness despite her signed card committed battery, upholding $20,000 damages and affirming a competent adult's right to refuse. Ontario Court of Appeal, 30 March 1990

Show the evidence (1 source)
Official public record Supported

Ontario Court of Appeal, “Malette v. Shulman (1990), 72 O.R. (2d) 417; 67 D.L.R. (4th) 321 (C.A.)”

30 March 1990 · pp.paras. 24, 44 · Robins J.A. · Ontario Court of Appeal (text reproduced by the Global Health & Human Rights Database)

“there was no reason not to regard this card as a valid advance directive. Its instructions were clear, precise and unequivocal and manifested a calculated decision to reject a procedure offensive to the patient's religious convictions.”

Doctor transfused an unconscious accident victim (30 June 1979) despite her Jehovah's Witness card; held to be battery; $20,000 general damages upheld.

Official source Archived or alternative copy Link not auto-checkable

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. CanLII (official) returned 403; opened the reproduced judgment text on globalhealthrights.org. Facts corroborated by CanLII Connects and McGill Law Journal summaries in search results. Judgment date from secondary sources.

Scan provenance. Judgment text reproduced on globalhealthrights.org (Lawyers Collective / O'Neill Institute)

Notes. A court vindicating an adult's refusal; the patient survived.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-onca-1990-malette-v-shulman

Claim page

A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-blood-case-malette/. Every source above opens the original document or the best available copy. If you believe the wording, date or context is wrong, report an error.