Aboriginal man’s ER death a homicide, lawyers argue
WINNIPEG — Lawyers for the family of an aboriginal man who died during a 34-hour emergency room wait say an inquest judge must rule the death a homicide.
They have also asked the judge to recommend Manitoba call a public inquiry into how aboriginal people are treated in the health system.
Vilko Zbogar told Judge Tim Preston that failing to provide medical care to a sick person is akin to failing to provide the necessities of life.
“It was homicide,” Zbogar said during final arguments Thursday at the Brian Sinclair inquest. “You just need to find that the death was caused by human contribution.”
Police have already investigated the death but did not lay any criminal charges.
It’s been almost six years since Sinclair, a double-amputee, died at Winnipeg’s Health Sciences Centre. He 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.
Murray Tratchenberg, another lawyer representing the family, said those racist assumptions about the dishevelled double-amputee led to his death.
Many nurses, aides and security guards saw Sinclair in the emergency room but assumed he was “sleeping it off” or homeless, Tratchenberg said.
“We’re talking about negative stereotyping — stereotyping that led to numerous assumptions being made, all of which significantly contributed to Mr. Sinclair’s death,” he told the inquest. “It caused medical staff, who had the responsibility to intervene and provide Mr. Sinclair with the care he needed, not to do so.”
The inquest didn’t delve into why those assumptions were made or what to do to prevent them, the Sinclair lawyers argued.
The judge should urge the Manitoba government to call a public inquiry into how aboriginal and marginalized people are treated in the health-care system, they said.