Obese woman files complaint with B.C. Human Rights Tribunal over her post-surgery care

An obese woman has filed a complaint with the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal, claiming she was discriminated against because of her weight, and denied a reasonable level of care.

The complainant, a university professor, says a doctor told her that, because of her obesity, there was no point wasting rehabilitation resources on her, and another doctor told her she was just wasting a rehab bed.

In a decision issued Friday, tribunal member Catherine McCreary denied the application to dismiss the complaint, noting certain conclusions could only be reached after a hearing.

The individual doctors involved, the health authority and the complainant are all subject to a publication ban and cannot be identified.

The professor says she suffers from a disability, namely obesity, and the tribunal notes that obesity is a disability which is a protected characteristic in the B.C. Human Rights Code.

The woman said she received differential and discriminatory treatment in her access to rehab, following two hip surgeries, followed by an infection, and the subsequent removal of her prosthetic hip.

The complainant, who was in excess of 440 lbs., said a doctor told her she would be transferred out of rehab and into a seniors home, and that the health authority did not have the resources to deal with someone her size.

The health authority disputes the womans assertion that she was denied a reasonable level of rehab. They noted that both of the complainants hospital stays markedly exceeded the typical length of stay by several weeks, and her 126 days in the rehab unit was the longest length of stay of any orthopaedic patient in the Unit over a six-year period.

The health authority also said the complainant refused to participate in nutrition counselling.

The tribunal member urged the parties to use mediation to settle the matter.

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Obese woman files complaint with B.C. Human Rights Tribunal over her post-surgery care