Yellowknife woman sues Stanton health authority for allegedly leaving her disabled

A Yellowknife woman is suing the Stanton Territorial Health Authority and several of its doctors and nurses for allegedly operating on a major artery instead of a superficial vein in her leg, which she says left her permanently disabled.

According to court documents filed Jan. 22, Natasha Bursey states she went to Stanton Territorial Hospital to have a piece of the long saphenous vein in her right leg surgically removed on Aug. 18, 2016. Instead, she says doctors mistakenly and unnecessarily tied-off her femoral artery which provides the main supply of blood flow to the leg.

Bursey says after the surgery, she repeatedly called the hospital to report she was experiencing numbness and severe pain in her right leg.

She claims staff failed to properly diagnose that her femoral artery had been severed and didn't send her for further testing or treatment. She also alleges hospital staff failed to properly recordBursey's post-surgical care, telephone calls with her and her physical examinations.

Bursey says double bypass grafts later had to be surgically put on her artery. She says she is now permanently disabled, suffers from long-term nerve pain and has difficulty walking.

None of these allegations have been proven in court.

Bursey is asking for $310,000 in damages for loss of income and for her pain and suffering.

Those named in the suit have yet to submit their defence.