Patient who had leg amputated files lawsuit accusing Thompson doctor of negligence

Vera-Lynn Kubinec · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 12, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

A diligent who went to the infirmary successful Thompson, Man., for urgent attraction to his limb is suing the doc who treated him, aft aesculapian problems led to the patient's limb being amputated. 

The patient, a present 43-year-old antheral who lives successful Thompson, went to the wide infirmary successful the bluish Manitoba metropolis connected April 17, 2023, for attraction due to the fact that of throbbing symptom successful the calf country of his close leg, according to a suit filed with Manitoba Court of King's Bench earlier this month.

A fewer days earlier going to the Thompson hospital, he had been treated for the occupation astatine a Winnipeg hospital. He was prescribed medicine and instructed to instrumentality for exigency attraction if his symptoms worsened, oregon if helium had thorax symptom oregon shortness of breath, the suit says.

The antheral has a aesculapian past of hypertension and coronary artery disease, among different issues, his connection of assertion says.

When helium went to the Thompson hospital, the doc named successful the suit diagnosed him with symptom successful his limb related to heavy vein thrombosis, which is linked to a humor clot, and sent him location with instructions to regularly instrumentality an anticoagulant medication called apixaban, according to the connection of claim.

The adjacent day, the plaintiff sought attraction astatine a session and astatine the Thompson infirmary again for limb pain, the assertion says, noting helium was walking with a limp. The suit says the doc astatine the infirmary again sent him location with instructions to instrumentality apixaban regularly.

Persistent pain

On April 23, six days aft the diagnosis astatine the Thompson hospital, the antheral went backmost to the infirmary owed to persistent symptom successful his leg, the tribunal papers says. 

His close limb was acold compared to the near side, and nary little leg/foot pulses could beryllium felt, according to the connection of claim.

Further investigating recovered the patient had a blockage successful the humor travel done an artery successful his leg, the suit says.

He was past transferred by aerial to the Health Sciences Centre successful Winnipeg, wherever helium was admitted nether the attraction of a vascular surgeon. 

For the adjacent month, the plaintiff underwent unsuccessful aesculapian procedures to reconstruct humor travel to his close leg, which yet required surgical amputation, the connection of assertion says.

Martin Pollock, the plaintiff's lawyer, told CBC News the man "obviously … was precise upset astir losing a limb that helium didn't judge helium had to lose."

"The allegation is that there's a breach successful the modular of attraction that caused, oregon materially contributed to, the nonaccomplishment of the limb," said Pollock.

The suit alleges the Thompson doc failed to instrumentality a due past of the patient, and to use captious reasoning or advocate for the patient.

It besides accuses the doctor of failing to behaviour diagnostic imaging connected the 2 antithetic days that helium saw the diligent earlier the antheral was urgently flown to Winnipeg for care. The claim also alleges the doctor failed to question consultation with a specialist.

The Thompson doc was negligent successful discharging the antheral "when helium knew oregon ought to person known that the signs and symptoms were accordant with an embolism," the tribunal papers says, referring to a blockage of a humor vessel.

Suffered intelligence anguish, nonaccomplishment of income: suit

The suit seeks a scope of costs and damages, specified arsenic nonaccomplishment of income, and past and aboriginal outgo of care.

It says the plaintiff, a journeyman carpenter, has not been capable to execute his enactment duties, and his earning capableness has been downgraded.

In summation to the nonaccomplishment of his close leg, the suit says helium has suffered mobility loss, soreness, and "mental anguish and harm to self-esteem and assemblage image."

The allegations person not been tested successful tribunal and the doc has not filed a connection of defence.  

CBC reached retired to the doc astatine Thompson hospital but did not get a effect anterior to publication.

The Northern Health Region, the wellness authorization that includes Thompson, declined comment, saying it cannot remark arsenic the substance is earlier the courts.