Inquest into man’s death during 34-hour ER wait not looking at racism: legal clinic

WINNIPEG – There are calls for a public inquiry into the death of an aboriginal man during a 34-hour wait at a Winnipeg emergency room.

An inquest examining the death of Brian Sinclair will hear final arguments today — almost six years after the double-amputee died at Winnipeg’s Health Sciences Centre.

But lawyers with Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto, which has standing at the inquest, say a public inquiry is needed to look at the challenges facing aboriginal patients.

Lawyer Emily Hill says the inquest should have examined what role discrimination played in Sinclair’s death.

Instead, the judge chose to focus more on the issue of over-crowding in emergency rooms, prompting Hill to withdraw from the inquest halfway through.

Hill says Sinclair’s case isn’t an isolated incident, just an extreme example of what aboriginal people experience daily.

Sinclair was referred to the emergency room in September 2008 because of a blocked catheter.

He languished in the waiting room for hours, vomiting and slowly dying from a treatable bladder infection, but was never asked if he was waiting for medical care.

An internal report following his death found some staff assumed he was drunk and waiting for a ride or was a homeless man seeking shelter.

The inquest is expected to hear recommendations from the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, Sinclair’s family and the Manitoba Nurses Union before it wraps up.