This Feb. 19, 2013, file photo shows OxyContin pills arranged for a photo at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt.
Image Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Toby Talbot, File
January 02, 2022 - 3:03 PM
A B.C. man is suing his doctor who he says got him addicted to opioids.
Warren Maurice Homan of North Vancouver says Dr. Gerald Nemanishen prescribed him no less than seven different opioid painkillers for a bad back over the course of three years, beginning in 2013.
He said in his statement of claim, filed in May 2020, that he has since developed an addiction to the drugs and had to enter a methadone maintenance program to manage his addiction in 2016. He said his doctor and two oversight bodies should have protected him, especially since a year before he was first prescribed, the opioid overdose crisis in the province was already well known.
He remains addicted to opioids and claims he has suffered immunologic and hormonal dysfunction, hyperalgesia, constipation, pain, headaches and opioid use disorder, among other physical pains. He is disabled.
In court filings, the B.C. College of Physicians and Surgeons, which regulates the profession, admitted it had concerns about Dr. Nemanishen’s practice in general but also specific concerns about his opioid prescriptions.
On Oct. 23, 2014 the College opened an investigation of his prescriptions for opioids and other psychoactive medications.
Dr. Nemanishen was called before the board to explain five patient files — none of which were about Homan, who the college said it had no communication from.
The college didn’t include many details of what it found but the investigation progressed to an onsite visit to Dr. Nemanishen’s office “which noted various deficiencies in Dr. Nemanishen’s practice.”
The college ordered him to take some courses but before the investigation could be completed, Dr. Nemanishen retired and the investigation ended.
Dr. Nemanishen denied all claims against him and maintained he was well within the scope of his practice.
Homan filed suit against the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C., the College of Pharmacist of B.C. and unnamed pharmacists who filled the prescriptions, claiming they were negligent to him personally as well as others.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons, however, successfully applied to be removed from the claim Dec. 24. A B.C. Supreme Court Justice confirmed that there was no prospect of success against the College.
None of the claims have been tested in court. The entire decision can be found here.
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