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6/11/2025Updated: 6/11/2025PrintX 1
A B.C. emergency room doctor has filed a lawsuit against her former health authority, alleging she faced unsafe conditions at work and was harassed after posting a sign advising patients about hospital wait times.
Dr. Kaitlin Stockton said she lost her job over the sign after it drew negative attention. She has filed a notice of civil claim in B.C. Supreme Court, seeking more than $600,000 for wrongful dismissal, as well as bad faith, aggravated, and punitive damages.
Stockton had worked for more than seven years as an emergency room (ER) physician at two Fraser Health hospitals: Royal Columbian Hospital, and Eagle Ridge Hospital, in the Vancouver suburbs of New Westminster and Port Moody, respectively.
In the lawsuit, Stockton accuses the health authority of creating unsafe conditions for patients and staff, alleging that health-care workers tried to bring attention to the “unsafe” environment and “substandard patient care” resulting from overcapacity and resource shortages.
According to the lawsuit, ER physicians and nurses are “regularly subjected to verbal and physical abuse by patients” and there have been “several instances” of patients bringing weapons into the ER and medical personnel being attacked while walking to and from their vehicles on hospital grounds.
In her lawsuit, Stockton says Fraser Health did not respond to the complaints or make workplace changes.
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Fraser Health Authority told The Epoch Times it does not comment on matters before the courts.
The main incident in the lawsuit involves a Nov. 18, 2024, video of Stockton placing a sign in the ER waiting room, informing patients of resource shortages and long wait times. Stockton says the sign was placed on behalf of Eagle Ridge Hospital physicians and with the permission of the ER department head.
The sign was shared on social media and two media outlets ran stories about the notice. According to the lawsuit, Eagle Ridge Hospital’s medical director, Dr. Josh Koczerginski, told Stockton that Fraser Health executives were “extremely angry” and alleged she was “misinforming the public” and in breach of the Canadian Medical Association’s Code of Conduct.
The lawsuit says Koczerginski threatened to revoke Stockton’s hospital privileges and file a complaint with B.C.’s college of physicians and surgeons unless she wrote a letter apologizing to Fraser Health. She was also told that since she was the only person seen on video posting the sign, she would be the only doctor investigated.
On Nov. 21, 2024, Stockton contacted the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA), a non-profit that provides legal support for physicians. A CMPA lawyer contacted Fraser Health executive medical director Dr. David Wickham, requesting an apology for Stockton and assurance she would not face disciplinary action.
Wickham responded that FHA leaders were upset about the sign and media coverage, believed Stockton had “no right” to post the sign, and were holding her responsible, according to the lawsuit.
A subsequent “fact-finding” meeting of Wickham, Stockton, and her CMPA lawyer took place on Dec. 19, 2024. Stockton alleges FHA was not interested in finding solutions or investigating the Nov. 18 incident but rather wanted to hold her accountable for the negative fallout from it.
Wickham refused to acknowledge any FHA wrongdoing and told Stockton she would receive a formal response in early January 2025, the lawsuit says.
Stockton filed a formal respectful workplace complaint on Jan. 23, and six days later was told her complaint did not “warrant further review.” That was followed by a letter to Stockton from Wickham, who said he was “satisfied” with her explanation and considered the matter “resolved,” the lawsuit says.
“Dr. Stockton’s employment was constructively dismissed as a direct result of FHA’s failure to comply with its legal obligation to provide Dr. Stockton with a workplace free from harassment and bullying,” the lawsuit says.
Stockton said she has suffered financially, professionally, mentally, and physically by the FHA’s actions.
None of the accusations have been proven in court.
Source: Epoch Times
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Author: brianpeckford
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