Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Ex-con MD's licence pulled
Doctor suspended here spent time in U.S. prison for firebombing house
A Winnipeg doctor who has been suspended from practising in Manitoba had his medical licence revoked in California in 1998, after he had spent two years in a U.S. prison for firebombing a relative's house.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba confirmed Monday family physician and Westbrook Medical Clinic owner Dr. George Korol was suspended from practice in Manitoba in February. Registrar Dr. Bill Pope would not discuss the details or say why the college handed Korol an interim suspension, but said the doctor has not been formally disciplined.
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Pope said Korol has practised medicine in Winnipeg for about a decade. The Free Press has learned that decade began around the same time the Medical Board of California revoked Korol's licence.
It's unclear why Korol was able to get a licence in Manitoba while a U.S. medical board deemed him unfit to practise.
Medical Board of California documents reveal Korol was arrested in his Orange County office on July 4, 1995 and charged with attempted murder, arson and uttering terrorist threats.
A day earlier, an explosive had been tossed into his mother-in-law's house, where his wife was staying on the heels of their divorce proceedings. Neighbours put out the fire.
Public record documents show Korol was convicted of arson in the firebombing and also uttered repeated threats to harm his wife and her family -- including to chop off her head and cut out her father's tongue as he slept. He was sentenced in 1996 to five years in state prison and served close to two years behind bars.
He was forced to pay $1,850 and $150 in restitution.
The medical board revoked his licence, saying he engaged in "unprofessional conduct, dishonesty and corruption and conviction of a crime substantially related to the qualifications, functions and duties of a physician and surgeon."
Manitoba's college was unable to comment on the matter when the information surfaced Monday afternoon.
"There are a lot of questions that need to be answered," said Arthur Schafer, University of Manitoba professor of ethics. Schafer said the college needs to explain whether it knew about Korol's history and why, if they did, they felt he did not pose a safety risk to the public. Schafer said it's possible the college ruled Korol had served his time and would not endanger Winnipeg patients.
However, if the college was unaware of Korol's criminal record and allowed him to practise, Schafer said, someone needs to be held accountable and explain how such a mistake was made.
"Is it part of their process to check for criminal records and did they do it in this case?" Schafer said. "Someone at the College of Physicians and Surgeons needs to reassure the public."
Records show Korol graduated from the University of Manitoba medical school in 1978 and was granted a medical licence in California in 1982.
Korol's Westbrook Medical Clinic is slated to close today for what employees say are "financial reasons," leaving four other physicians without a place to treat patients.
The clinic manager, who refused to give her name, said the closing has nothing to do with Korol's recent suspension from medicine. She said the remaining physicians will try to find clinic space in the same area so patients don't have to travel out of the neighbourhood to get an appointment.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 1, 2009 A3
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