Doctor’s negligence led to amputation: lawsuit

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This article was published 21/04/2025 (343 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man who went to the Thompson hospital with pain in his calf is suing the doctor who treated him after his leg was later amputated in Winnipeg.

Winnipeg lawyer Martin Pollock filed the lawsuit on behalf of the 43-year-old journeyman carpenter from Thompson. He is seeking damages to be determined by the court. The doctor has yet to file a statement of defence.

The man went to a Winnipeg hospital on April 11, 2023, having suffered severe pain in his right leg for two days.

He was given medication after an ultrasound revealed a suspected blood clot. He was told to return for emergency care if his symptoms got worse or if he had pain in his chest or shortness of breath, the court papers allege.

The man has a history of hypertension and coronary artery disease.

Upon his return to the north, the court papers claim, he went to a Thompson clinic and was sent to the hospital’s emergency department on April 18. His right foot had an “absent pulse.”

The doctor named in the suit examined him that day, the suit claims. He was again told to take the medication prescribed in Winnipeg and then sent home, the lawsuit states.

He returned to the Thompson emergency department on April 23, 2023, with persistent pain in his leg.

“His right leg was cold compared to the left side and the lower leg/foot pulses were non-palpable,” the lawsuit says.

Another doctor ordered tests that revealed a blockage in the femoral artery, the lawsuit alleges, then ordered the man to be airlifted to Health Sciences Centre.

Doctors there, including a specialized surgeon, tried to restore blood flow in his leg for a month, but the limb had to be amputated.

The court papers accuse the first Thompson doctor of negligently causing the loss of the man’s leg, including by failing to take his medical history into account, failing to conduct various tests or consulting with a specialist.

The suit alleges the doctor discharged the man without considering that his symptoms were consistent with a blood clot and failed to send him for specialty treatment in Winnipeg after seeing him April 18.

The man has been unable to continue in his job or do work around the house, the court papers state.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca