Lawsuits Against Ontario's Conservative Government

[Red Squirrel]

http://canada.com/national/story.asp?id=08...22-270B0B4583E2


Lawsuits planned against Ont. over handling of West Nile virus
Friday, June 20, 2003

TORONTO -- A nurse who is confined to a wheelchair because of the West Nile virus is one of a dozen people filing lawsuits against Ontario's Conservative government, alleging that the province failed to adequately warn them about the disease.

''(West Nile) has affected my life profoundly,'' said Pat Anweiler, 45.

''I've now gone from a completely able-bodied person ... to being dependent on people to get me places, to get me toileted, to get me ... in and out of cars.''

The lawsuits allege that the government did not take appropriate measures to warn the public about West Nile, and did not ensure there was speedy testing for the virus.

According to Health Canada, 18 people in Ontario who had West Nile died last year. Several hundred others fell ill.

Anweiler developed the virus while recuperating from a kidney transplant last summer.

''I was lethargic, couldn't put food to my mouth,'' she said. ''They thought it was the flu and I would get over it.''

Six weeks after she was admitted to hospital, Anweiler learned she had West Nile.

Lawyer Doug Elliott has sent 12 letters to Attorney General Norm Sterling notifying him of the lawsuits and says about 50 other people have expressed interest in joining the case.

He hopes the suits will be dealt with by the court as a ''group action.''

The lawsuits ask for damages totalling up to $75 million, which Elliott said would cover things like pain and suffering, lost wages and health-care costs.

Some complainants, like David Kimmel, are family members of West Nile victims.

''(My mother) was a healthy, vital individual making a daily contribution to her family and community,'' Kimmel said Friday.

''The greatest tragedy for our family is that her death was preventable. The province was not prepared to confront this epidemic, even though they had known it was coming since 1999.''

It was in 1999 that the disease first arrived in the New York area, 62 years after it first appeared in a region of Uganda.

Health Canada, which gets its information on confirmed and suspected cases of West Nile from the provinces, reports that Canada has 20 confirmed deaths from West Nile - 18 in Ontario and two in Quebec.

This year, as the province grapples with the SARS crisis, officials have launched an extensive campaign to promote public awareness about West Nile.

A spokesman for Ontario's Health Ministry said Friday that the government has done its best to combat the disease.

''West Nile virus, in this part of the world, is an emerging disease, and at all times we've gone with the best scientific advice we can get and we always communicated that to the people of Ontario in a timely fashion,'' said Paul Cantin.

''Unfortunately because of (a lawsuit) that's apparently being launched we can't comment further.''

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