Canadians interested in a Class Action Lawsuit?

[Onthelake]

Hello fellow Canadians, many of you may have listened to or read the transcript of Dr. Sandy McDonald's testimony last week to the Canadian Parliamentary Sub Committee that reviewed the CCSVI issue. One of his main points is that MS patients are being seriously discriminated against as we not being treated for a condition that others would be treated for, just because we have MS! Could the Canadian system deny us treatment for any other condition because we have MS? Treatment for cancer? arthritis? diabetes? NO! ...only CCSVI. This is outrageous and enraging and pure discrimination. We have rights people, we have a CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT to be treated! Dr. McDonald warned the committee that a class action lawsuit against the Feds and the Provinces may come about if this discrimination continues. I believe it is time to approach a lawyer on this. Does anyone know of a good lawyer who would be interested in taking on this very high profile case on? Are any of you lawyers? I think this may be just the thing to hit the media with and push this issue over the tipping point in our favour...please let us all know what you think and if you have any ideas on how to proceed.

[welshman]

Onthelake, I am not a lawyer but I certainly agree with you and would be in line to sign up. One other possibility is a Human Rights Commission complaint - see forum CCSVI Treatment in Western Australia where "Muse" writes he is waiting to hear about his case with the Human Rights Commission of New Zealand. If he can give me info I am going to do this in B.C. because the denying of treatment is also discrimatory.
Let's get this going.

[Farmer]

I will sign up too. If that get's more attention.

[fiddler]

Here is the thread welshman is talking about: http://www.thisisms.com/ftopict-11766.html
...Ted

[1eye]

I have posted on here and elsewhere that I'm willing to represent a class. That means doing all the talking in court. But recently I found that the folks out in BC have an action before a Human Rights court. I think this requires less of a personal paper trail. It is on Radio, TV and the Internet. It would be well have witnesses to the individual contributions, but papers usually keep good track of their writers, and I think there is one face and voice many of us would recognize.

Lawrence Greenspon I think is a high-powered Ottawa human rights guy. There might be others. Anybody engaging in such an action beware: you may not live to see the day. Same with class actions, they take a long time.

I think there is an obvious case, unless the right to life isn't guaranteed by the constitution. I thought it was. I think quality is not the greatest thing being put in jeopardy by these Associations, Societies, hospitals, individuals, and their lawyers. For people sick with 'MS', or as it should be called, CCSVI, it is often life itself that is on the line. This is discrimination, pure and simple, with obvious conflicts of interest, and other forms of personal and institutional involvement for gain.


They have deep pockets, so let's empty some of them!
Anybody agree?

[muse]

Mark from CA/Vancouver is keen to make some noise as well! http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=339365&sc=79

Best Arne - despite the name a female born

[Brightspot]

Jenna Machala is initiating a class action human rights complaint in British Columbia.

Anyone interested in adding their name to the claim, or assisting her in any way please contact her at jennacmachala@gmail.com

I have been talking folks for some time about the possibility of initiating simultaneous complaints in each province, but when I heard from Jenna this evening that she is going ahead, and has already arranged to be at the Human Rights Tribunal Clinic on May 31st, I congratulated her and told her I will do whatever I can to help.

She also has started a web site called Forum on Health.

We are calling on Canadians in other provinces to initiate class action Human Rights Complaints.

[Johnson]

I have a case, as I was referred to the Victoria doc. who got shut down, and my referral flushed. I have spoken to a couple of lawyers, and will be pursuing it once I get my brains and some energy back (providing I do). If I don't, well... I'll know soon enough.

[blossom]

you go canadians, i don't think any of us are out to get rich when we feel like crap. but the threat of the suit should get some much more needed attention to ccsvi. hopefully it may wake up some here in the usa. just a thought-could the good doctors sue the ones that are keeping them from treating and careing for their patients the way their oath they take said they would do? but, now because of a lot of bs they are kept from doing.

[Perky]

This is great, and I would be interested in doing something similar in the UK.

Although, I think it might be tricky to prove the discrimination aspect, as I think we'd struggle to give examples of people who don't have MS and who have received treatment for CCSVI...wouldn't this be the obvious response from the other side? That nobody is being treated for CCSVI, because the liberation procedure hasn't been satisfactorily proved (as far as the medical establishment is concerned) to be beneficial yet?

[Onthelake]

Hi everyone, thanks for your words of support...Muse has posted a link here that I followed to an article about Mark Lane in St. John's who is on his way down this road already, there are a ton of support comments beneath the article including one referring to this thread I started.....I would suggest we all throw our support around Mark and his family and offer to help in any way we can. Also Jenna - as noted by Brightspot...we have both ends of the Country covered then and can work our way towards to middle. Of course if someone else wants to proceed more power to you....call your lawyer, your MP and MPP, call or write CTV and CBC.....together we will succeed.

[scotland]

The only problem as I see it is that you don't really want this plugged up, or should I say stenosed, in the Canadian courts system..

Every day there is more and more heart wrenching media from testimonials, you tube and here on this forum, on the successes.

The doctors tent to be afraid of anyone who mentions the "sue them"
phrase, so you have to be cautious in attaching your name to it.

I think the sub committee has to be vividly aware of this, its a legal no brainer.
An easy test , an easy proceedure, that can make you better and
stops brain damage.
Some days you get the feeling that we have already been written off as a group, whats a few more years?

I would wait and see what the committee decides, which should be shortly.

If not, we could all seek damages on a daily basis, and make them
retroactive to Avis Favaro's broadcast?

Yipee, a long weekend in Canada.
Scotland

[Brightspot]

I don't think we need to worry about any legal action delaying political decisions that will be made.

The fact that legal action is initiated, (even if the cases may take years to be heard) will put additional pressure on the decision makers to take appropriate action.

Sometime down the road those of us who have had to travel out of country or pay privately for testing or treatment might be compensated. Who knows, perhaps those who suffer damage because of unreasonable delay might be compensated.

I can see no down side to initiating claims.

[1eye]

Me neither. Who has had Greenspan on the phone? Or Strosberg?

Anybody?