Winnipeg, Canada – Life Support Lawsuit of Golubchuk Family, Dropped

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    SAM GOLUBCHUK died June 24 2008 after being in a hospital on life support in the city of Winnpeg, CanadaWinnipeg, Canada – The family of a Winnipeg man at the centre of an end-of-life medical dispute is dropping its lawsuit against the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.

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    The move ends any possibility that the continuation of the case would set a legal precedent in how to deal with dying patients on life support.

    Samuel Golubchuk, 85, died June 24 after seven months on life support at Grace General Hospital, but not before he became the focus of a fight over the right to medical treatment after doctors at the hospital announced their intention to remove him from life support late last year.

    Golubchuk’s children argued the move would hasten his death, violating his beliefs as an Orthodox Jew, and filed a lawsuit against the WRHA and his doctors.

    They won a court injunction requiring the hospital to maintain life support until the matter could be argued in court but Golubchuk died before a trial could take place.

    It was unclear after his death what would become of the lawsuit and its potential to set precedent for similar occurrences in the future, but a spokeswoman for the WRHA said that the suit will not go ahead.

    “The lawyer for the family has notified us of his intent to drop the legal action,” said Heidi Graham.

    Graham said Golubchuk’s stay in the hospital, which prompted three doctors to quit taking shifts in his ward because they said it violated their ethics, may still result in policy shifts.
    “The WRHA is reviewing the Golubchuk case to determine what, if any, changes need to be made,” Graham said. “As of right now the (College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba’s) statement on withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment does apply to all physicians working in our hospitals.”

    The statement requires doctors who believe treatment is futile but cannot reach consensus with the patient’s family to consult another doctor, and if that doctor agrees, to tell the family specifically when treatment will be ceased.

    Graham noted all three doctors who left Grace General Hospital over the case have since advised the WRHA of their intention to return.


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    5 Comments
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    NYC
    NYC
    15 years ago

    this is what happens when you have a government run socialized (communist) health care system!

    BiggestFish
    BiggestFish
    15 years ago

    You think so! The same things happen here, in our capitalistic system.

    Charlie Hall
    Charlie Hall
    15 years ago

    “this is what happens when you have a government run socialized (communist) health care system!”

    Excuse me, this was not a government run system. The hospital in question was run by an evangelical Christian organization, the Salvation Army, at the time when the doctors tried to discontinue treatment. It has since been absorbed into the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, which is private but mostly governmentally funded, much like most hospitals in New York City. Check your facts before making inaccurate claims.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    Communist? How many people in your wonderous capitalist system do not have healthcare? Additionally, to those who do have healthcare, who controls it – the insurance companies. They tell doctors how much they will pay them, they decide what treatments should be covered and what should not and they charge you for this. In Canada the government does this and collects tax dollars to pay for it. The difference however is that in Canada, the goal is to ensure that everyone gets quality healthcare. Of course there are faults in the system like ANY system. In the US, healthcare is run with a pure profit motive – boost earnings per share of the insurance companies. Your post shows a complete lack of understanding of universal heathcare systems. It would be helpful for you to read papers other than the New York Post to gain an understanding popular discussion topics so that you could post more intelligently in the future.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    Why did they drop the lawsuit?