B.C. stroke victim files lawsuit

A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a Burns Lake woman who suffered a debilitating stroke two days after she was discharged from the community's hospital.

According to a statement of claim, Rochelle Turner, 44, attended the emergency department at the Lakes District Hospital and Health Centre on June 28, 2019, where she presented with symptoms of numbness and tingling in her right arm and fingers, blurred vision, confusion and slurred speech and intermittent facial tingling.

Turner was examined by a physician but no treatment was administered and she was discharged, the statement says. Two days later, she suffered a stroke "so severe that she has been left with severe, permanent, physical and mental impairments."

The single mother of four children now relies on a wheelchair and other aids to move from place to place and needs constant help with basic day-to-day tasks. Her speech has been profoundly affected and she will never be able to work again. 

The lawsuit maintains Rochelle should have been admitted as a patient and transported to University Hospital of Northern B.C. in Prince George, where there is imaging technology and support from a specialist.

Northern Health, the hospital and the attending physician are named as defendants in the lawsuit.

In part, the lawsuit says Lakes District Hospital failed to train staff on the appropriate protocols for a patient who presents in the emergency department with the symptoms Turner displayed.

The lawsuit is claiming damages for the costs incurred by her family members and relatives, and her band, the Wet'suwet'en First Nation, for lost wages and for her care and rehabilitation.

The statement of claim was filed with the B.C. Supreme Court registry in Prince George on March 8. None of the defendants have yet filed a response and the allegations have not been tested in court.

— This story was originally published by The Prince George Citizen