TORONTO - Fifty-one-year-old Stephen Burnstad went in for surgery to remove a cancerous stomach tumour, but he never made it out alive.
His widow Norma was suspicious about her husbandâs death and when an anonymous caller told her to dig deeper, she took action. She arranged for an independent autopsy and was shocked by the findings.
The pathologistâs report concluded that Stephenâs death was caused by an âacute intra-peritoneal hemorrhage due to vascular injury complicating laparoscopic gastrectomy,â or in other words, a bleed into the belly as a result of injury to a blood vessel.
Norma decided to take legal action against the surgeon. Her lawsuit alleges âsurgical errorâ likely caused the internal bleeding that ultimately resulted in Stephenâs death; and that she was âmisinformedâ by the doctor about the cause of death.
Norma told CTVâs W5: âIf [the surgeon] was in the room when it happened, so I think that when you hemorrhage, the doctor would know.â
However, little did Norma know that with her legal claim, she would be going up against a Goliath â a powerful organization based in Ottawa called the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA).
It has a $5 billion war chest, which is used, in part, to provide doctors with legal support in court to fight malpractice suits.
Doctors pay dues to be members of the CMPA, but provinces pay the physicians back; in some cases up to 90 per cent, less a small fee.
According to former CMPA lawyer Paul Harte, it means: âTaxpayers at the end of the day are footing the bill.â
Harte, who now represents plaintiffs as a medical malpractice lawyer, told CTVâs W5:
â[The CMPA] will spend whatever it takes to protect the doctor's reputation.â
In one case, Harte says his small firm went up against 27 lawyers in court, all paid for by the CMPA.
The former CMPA lawyer also says over a 10-year period, approximately 75 per cent of Canadians lost at trial going up against the CMPA.
The CMPAâs own 2019 annual report notes that of the cases that went to court that year, 90 per cent were found in favour of the doctor.
CMPA CEO & Executive Director Dr. Lisa Calder says the CMPA supports doctors, but also financially supports patients who have been harmed by medical error.
Calder told CTVâs W5: âThe goal for us is to actually not go to court and not get into trial. The goal for us is to really try and establish as soon as we can, was there negligence that occurred.â
Calder also disputes the suggestion the CMPA is funded by taxpayer dollars. She says, âEach provincial medical association negotiates a reimbursement program with the province. The CMPA is not party to those negotiations.â
Norma Burnstad says sheâs not discouraged by the slow pace of the litigation, almost three years now, against a surgeon she believes was responsible for her husbandâs death.
Norma is hopeful sheâs one of the few who win their court case.
âIâm in this for the long haul, Sandie. Steven didnât deserve this. My boys didnât deserve this.â
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