Ontario Neurosurgeon Suspended for Six Months After Patient Dies During Pain Treatment

By Tahani Elghazaly
Published April 7, 2026

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An Ontario physician discipline panel has suspended neurosurgeon Stefan Joseph Konasiewicz for six months after finding professional misconduct in a case linked to the death of a patient who underwent pain treatment procedures. The physician’s official record with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario shows that his status remains listed as suspended, while confirming his specialty as neurosurgery.

According to the official record, the discipline committee found on February 9, 2026, that the physician failed to maintain the standard of practice, breached a term, condition or limitation on his certificate of registration, and engaged in conduct considered disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional in the circumstances of the case. The panel ordered a six-month suspension effective February 10, 2026, imposed additional terms and conditions on his registration, and required him to pay C$6,000 in costs.

Local reporting based on the case documents said the matter involved a patient in his 70s who underwent a series of nerve block procedures for pain treatment on October 31, 2024, before collapsing and dying despite resuscitation efforts. The reporting said the ruling identified serious deficiencies in the physician’s decision-making around the timing and number of injections, as well as in the clinical methods used to perform them safely.

The CPSO record also shows that the physician had already been subject to restrictions since 2022 as part of an investigation into his chronic pain practice. Those restrictions included a limit of 45 chronic pain patients per day and no more than five chronic pain appointments per hour. The record further shows that an interim order suspended his registration on May 12, 2025, while proceedings were underway.

Case documents cited in local coverage also said a later review of other patient files found that 12 out of 15 charts did not meet the expected standard of practice. The reporting added that the physician admitted in the discipline matter that he had failed to meet the required standard of care in the central case.

The decision adds another disciplinary measure to the physician’s regulatory record in Ontario after earlier restrictions and investigation findings were published on his professional file, in a case centered on patient safety and pain treatment practices in clinic settings.