Update on Dad's wrongful death file

In his invitation to use this new blog, Dave suggested that we should widen the scope of the topics beyond the Ukraine Pilgramage. Some have already done so. I'll follow suit. Back in the fall of 2008 I circulated an email to the RR3 Fransen clan alerting you to the fact that our family believed that our father's death (Henry) on Sept. 30th had been as a result of an error made by his physician. I'd like to provide you with an update on that situation. I'll do so in point form:

1. The Provincial Coroner's office has confirmed that Dad died as a result of digoxin toxicity.
2. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) has completed its investigation of Dr. Toews and concluded that the evidence against Dr. Toews is significant. When confronted by the CPSO, Dr. Toews decided to retire. He is no longer licensed to practice medicine. However, the CPSO did not have the courage to formally discipline Toews.
3. The medical malpractice suit has been formally initiated by the family against Dr. Toews.
4. We have also appealed the CPSO's decision not to discipline Toews.
5. We are also asking the Niagara Health System Board of Directors to review this case from the perspective of patient safety. When we informed the NHS of this matter in October 2008 we asked that they suspend Toews' hospital privilges pending the outcome of the CPSO investigation. Senior management refused our request. They continued to allow Toews to practice in their facilities despite his disregard for patient safety. We've asked the Minister of Health to intervene to ensure that the NHS takes their patient safety review seriously.
6. To this point we have purposefully not involved the media. We don't think that a media circus will be all that healthy for Mom. At some point either the lawsuit or the patient safety review will get the attention of a reporter on a slow news day.