Woman accuses hospital staff of losing brain tumour sample before testing

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This article was published 30/04/2025 (509 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A woman who had a brain tumour removed at Health Sciences Centre is suing after she says hospital staff lost the tissue sample before it could be tested for cancer.

Winnipeg lawyers Sadira Garfinkel and Jason Harvey filed the lawsuit in the Court of King’s Bench this month on behalf of the woman, a 35-year-old full-time caregiver to four young kids.

The statement of claim names the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and Shared Health as defendants, as well as six HSC workers — nurses, operating room assistants and lab technicians.

The defendants have yet to respond with statements of defence.

The woman was diagnosed in 2021 with a frontal brain tumour and surgery was recommended to remove what was presumed to be a low-grade — or slow-growing — glioma, which is a type of brain tumour, the court papers say. Some gliomas can be cancerous.

“It was understood by the plaintiff that the… glioma… would be sent to a laboratory for analysis to determine the pathology of the sample for the purpose of directing subsequent treatment plans,” the court filing reads.

She was admitted for neurosurgery on April 20, 2023, and the tumour was removed, the documents claim, then preserved to be sent for testing.

The woman had a difficult recovery with a “cascade of aggravating symptoms and conditions,” but was able to be discharged the next day.

When following up with the surgeon a few days later, she claims she learned the sample was not delivered to the lab and appeared to have been lost.

“As a result of the loss of the sample, the plaintiff’s treating surgeon was unable to provide the plaintiff with a definitive diagnosis for her condition,” the lawsuit reads.

“As a result… he was unable to provide her with a definitive treatment plan as the treatment plans for various grades of tumours are markedly different.”

The surgeon advised that without a definitive diagnosis, the only option was to wait to see if the tumour grew back, the suit claims.

Subsequent tests have shown no evidence of tumour regrowth but the woman will continue to be tested for the foreseeable future.

The surgeon advised the woman that HSC, the WRHA and Shared Health were investigating the loss of the tissue sample, the lawsuit says.

The woman’s condition deteriorated after learning about the loss of the sample and she has suffered since, including with sensory issues, sleep problems and dizzy spells. She has required multiple trips to the emergency department.

“The plaintiff says that as a further result of the incident, she was and continues to be left with uncertainty and feelings of fear, stress and confusion in relation to her concerns over the unknown pathology of the lost sample and the lack of an appropriate and definitive treatment plan for the foreseeable future,” the court papers read.

She claims to have continued to suffer pain and dizziness, as well as “significant emotional trauma” and has been unable to return to work.

The lawsuit accuses the WRHA and Shared Health of breaching their duty to provide reasonable and prudent care in hospital, including by failing to ensure there were clear and safe procedures and protocols surrounding the collection and testing of samples and that those protocols were followed.

It alleges the health agencies failed to quickly realize the sample was lost and investigate.

The employees, the lawsuit alleges, failed in their duty to provide a reasonable level of care, including in their handling of the sample.

The suit seeks monetary damages, but does not set out a dollar figure.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca