Facing four-year wait for hip surgery, young New Brunswick woman headed to court
Posted March 31, 2019 1:38 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
MONCTON, N.B. — A New Brunswick woman injured in a car crash is headed to court this week to argue her insurance company should cover the cost of her hip surgery in a private clinic because she faces a four-year wait in the public system.
One of her lawyers says it’s a case that could have implications for health care across the country.
Mike Murphy, a senior partner with Forte Law in Moncton, N.B., says his young client was injured in a collision three years ago, but her hip injury wasn’t diagnosed until six months ago.
Murphy says her insurance company won’t cover the $28,000 it would cost to have surgery in a private clinic in Nova Scotia because the operation — to repair a labral tear — should be covered by medicare.
However, Murphy says the four-year wait effectively means she is being denied treatment.
The lawyer says the woman’s hip is expected to deteriorate over the next four years, causing undue suffering and increasing the likelihood she will need a hip replacement.
“We’re saying that medicare doesn’t cover this because availability is four years away,” Murphy said in an interview. “That’s just not coverage.”
The Canadian Press
