Yellowknife doctor argues no evidence in metal clip lawsuit

One Yellowknife doctor has asked to be dismissed from a$500,000 lawsuit launched by an Edmonton woman,who claims doctors at Stanton Territorial Hospital left a piece of metal in her back for eight years.

• Woman says Yellowknife surgeons left metal clip in her back for 8 years

Darlene Larabie underwent gall bladder surgery at Stanton Territorial Hospital in March1993.

Eight years later, Larabie saida doctor in Edmonton requested she get an ultrasound after she complained of back pain. Court documents state that "the presence of a surgical clip in the upper right quadrant of her lumbar spine left from the cholecystectomy ...was confirmed."

Larabie is asking for damages from the two doctors who performed the surgeryand the anesthetist.

Larabie is also asking for damages from Stanton Territorial Hospital and three nurses who have not been named.

She is asking for about $500,000 for injuries such as severe pain, depression and fatigue that she says were caused by the metal clip.

No evidence, says lawyer

In N.W.T. Supreme Court Monday, the lawyer for Dr. Patricia Snozyk, one of the doctors named in the suit,requested that his client be dropped from the lawsuit, sayingthat Larabiehas not shown she has a case and that too much time has passed since her1993 surgery.

Speaking in court over the telephone from Edmonton, Larabie's partner saidthe cause of her back pain wasn't discovered until 2011, when a doctor was called out of the room during an X-ray and saw the clip.

Dr. Snozyk's lawyersaidLarabiehadn't submitted any evidence, such as expert testimony, that shows she has a case.

Larabie's partner said in response that the couple no longer has a lawyer, and that their legal paperwork has gone missing.

The presidingjudge then asked Larabie's partner why theydidn't ask for an adjournment, which would defer the hearing until a further date, but Larabie's partner saidthey didn't realize that was an option.

The judge is reviewing the case before giving a decision as to whether Dr. Snozyk will be dropped from the lawsuit.