Winnipeg woman's brain tumour sample lost by health authorities, lawsuit claims

A Winnipeg woman is suing multiple health authorities in Manitoba after she claims medical staff lost a brain tumour sample when it was sent for lab testing in 2023. 

In a statement of claim filed on April 15, a 35-year-old woman alleges staff overseen by Shared Health — the province's health authority — and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) failed to provide a duty of care when they lost the sample and, as a result, gave her an inadequate treatment plan. 

The allegations have not been proven in court. 

According to the claim, the woman was diagnosed with a right frontal brain tumour around 2021. At the time, medical staff thought she had a low-grade glioma, a slow-growing benign brain tumour, and recommended she have craniotomy and tumour debulking surgeries.

On April 20, 2023, the tumour was surgically removed at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg and later preserved in a formaldehyde solution to be sent for testing.

The woman was discharged from the hospital about two days later, following a "difficult recovery" that was "accompanied by a cascade of aggravating symptoms and conditions," the statement of claim says.  

On April 25, the woman says she learned the sample had been lost during a follow-up appointment with her surgeon. It was never sent to the lab, the lawsuit alleges. 

As a result, the surgeon could not provide a definitive diagnosis or a specific treatment plan.  

Instead, the surgeon took a "watch and wait" approach while letting her know the lost sample was being investigated internally by the hospital, the WRHA and/or Shared Health.

After she learned about the lost sample the woman's condition began to get worse, according to the statement of claim.  

She began to experience increased anxiety and nervous shock, alongside depression, dizzy spells, migraines, body spasms and sleep issues.

The woman says she has been unable to work due to her symptoms, and is seeking damage compensation, the claim states. 

She is seeking general damages, special damages related to past and future care, loss of income damages, and related legal costs. 

The claim says the WRHA and Shared Health were negligent and failed to provide a duty of care during the preparation, collection, processing, storage and transportation of the brain tumour sample — and subsequent investigation of, and communication around, the loss.