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Kamloops woman sues after surgery done on wrong ankle at Vernon hospital

The woman is suing Interior Health, two surgeons for negligence, breach of contract
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A Kamloops woman has sued Interior Health claiming surgeons at Vernon Jubilee Hospital operated on the wrong ankle in March 2020. (File photo)

A Kamloops woman is suing Interior Health and two surgeons after they performed surgery on the wrong ankle at Vernon Jubilee Hospital (VJH) in 2020.

Julie Alison Reid was admitted to the hospital on March 5, 2020, for arthroscopic fusion surgery on her left ankle, according to a notice of civil claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court on March 3, 2022. Doctors Julian Sernik and Robert Hillis are named as defendants along with Interior Health.

Before the operation, Reid spoke to Sernik and Hillis and other hospital staff to confirm it was her left ankle that was due for operation.

However, after putting Reid under general anesthetic, the surgery was initiated on her right ankle, removing cartilage. The operation continued for about 90 minutes before Sernik and Hillis were told by circulating nurses that they were operating on the wrong ankle. The doctors notified the plaintiff about the error about two hours after the surgery was performed.

Reid is claiming Interior Health and VJH were guilty of negligence and breach of contract when they removed healthy tissue on her right ankle when it “ought to be obvious that the surgery should have been performed on the right ankle.”

The erroneous surgery resulted in scarring, pain, numbness and soft tissue injuries to the plaintiff’s right ankle, which was otherwise healthy before the surgery, according to the claim.

The amount the plaintiff is seeking is unspecified in the claim.

None of the claims have been proven in court. Interior Health has 21 days to respond to the claim.

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Brendan Shykora
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Brendan Shykora

About the Author: Brendan Shykora

I started as a carrier at the age of 8. In 2019 graduated from the Master of Journalism program at Carleton University.
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