jenottawa

I don't think any elective surgeries are being booked right now as so many have been cancelled that they have a BIG backlog when they start up again... Also, no court cases are being held right now either. I have contacted a couple of lawyers and they never got back to me. Also, I was told not to go after Slimband but the maker OF the band as one went bankrupt and the other is still operating.

Can you defend people in Canada? We are spread out across the country.

Apparently Slimband and Lap-Band are two different things. The Slimband is hollow and filled with fluid and you have a port sewn into the side of your abdomen so that you can fill or de-fill as needed to restrict or release the size of your stomach. I believe it has its own patent.

Everybody just stay tuned to this thread and I will update when I have more information about a class action. If anybody is part of any other weight loss support groups that include Slimband patients, please let them know about this. I am sure that with the statistics given in the news story I posted (and will post again) about necessary removal, that we could get numbers into the hundreds and they will HAVE to pay - especially us gals that had to go through Credit Medical to get the ridiculous loan for the procedure. As of 2017, over 200 bands have had to be removed. https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/gastric-band-surgery-marketplace-1.4479735

I think a Toronto firm with offices on both the east and west coasts might be best as far as people being able to get it to give depositions and such. Is anybody on this message thread friends with someone that might work for a Toronto-based legal office?

I never heard back from the legal firm I contacted. We might have to start at square one. I thought they would be the best ones to handle it since they have a class action against Lap Band, but I guess they aren't interested.

Will keep everybody informed as I get information from them. The paralegal that responded to me gave me the name of the lawyer handling the Lap-Band class action and copied them on my inquiry so they are aware of the situation. Just giving them time to get back to me...

When I know anything, I will keep this thread updated. I promise. Turns on your notifications for any replies.

I have contacted a legal firm in Vancouver that already has a class action against the company that makes Lap-Band. Since we already have many people interested in a class action against Slimband, they might just take the case on a contingency basis (i.e. they would get 10% of any money recovered). I will let you know if/when I hear back from them. Since the Slimband clinic is closed, that would not be our target. And unfortunately it wouldn't be Dr. Patrick Yau either. It would be the owner of BOTH Slimband clinic and CreditMedical.com where many of us got our medical loans from, as it is still practicing and making TONS of money charging huge interest rates on medical loans. Where there's big money, you can bet a lawyer is going to be interested - especially since they've probably already done a lot of research into banding for their initial suit. Personally I will probably have the band removed at some point but not until I can find a surgeon that will revise my RNY to make the pouch smaller. I had an RNY in 2002 and the pouch expanded so I got the Slimband in 2013 to increase restriction again. If I take the band off, I will still have the big pouch, and I don't want that. I expect that with missed work due to Slimband complications since January 2013, I will be owed in the tens of thousands of dollars easily.

One of the former directors of Slimband owns CreditMedical Inc. which is the loan company many of us got our $16,000 loans from in order to get banded. I don't think it would hurt to go after him as well since he gave us the loans fraudulently at a high interest rate for a faulty medical device. Report as to what you find out.

Allergan perhaps? https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/weight-loss-gastric-band-complications-removals-on-the-rise-in-canada-1.3645771

Just off the top of my Google search I was able to find Fasken https://www.fasken.com/en/offices and Blakes https://www.fasken.com/en/offices and McCarthy https://www.mccarthy.ca/en/contact-us/offices and Stikeman Elliott https://www.stikeman.com/en-ca/firm/accolades - I personally prefer the last one as I have heard good things about them the most and they seem to have the most national offices. If anybody in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary or Vancouver wants to meet with them for a free consultation and just see what they have to say, I would be willing to pick up the ball from there. I would just need a name and a referral to a lawyer in their firm in Ottawa. I simply don't have the time as I am wrapping up a parliamentary session and then going into an election period right now. Let me know!!

Everybody wants to be a part of the class action and get their money back but nobody wants to take the initiative to see a lawyer so we're kind of dead in the water. If we could find a nationwide firm that took cases on contingency (i.e. they only get paid if we get a settlement so no money up front) then we could take part no matter where we are located. Otherwise, we have to go through the health care system to get put on a list for surgical removal at taxpayer's expense.

KimMac, just wanted to mention that the dye in your Slimband port is normal. They put it in the fill fluid so that someone doing a fill or defill knows they have accessed the port properly.

His name is Dr. Patrick Yau. You can read about him in the article I posted. The article also quotes, "Credit Medical and Slimband director Michael Scot-Smith is a former developer who was convicted of real estate fraud and sentenced in 1993 to two years in jail. In 2000, he was convicted of obtaining bank loans under false pretenses. He didn't respond to Marketplace's requests for comment." I think Michael Scot-Smith is the person to go after as he's STILL collecting money through Credit Medical loans. He's the one with the money. Please read the article: https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/gastric-band-surgery-marketplace-1.4479735

I doubt going after Dr. Patrick Yau would produce any results. It's the owner of the clinic that should be targeted.

Thanks so much. I am very interesting in joining that class action. I think it's B.S. that they filed for bankruptcy because the doctor that owned the clinic also owned Credit Medical, that high interest loan company that fleeced many patients out of $15,000+ to have their surgeries (me included). They made TONS of money of that venture. I know that Credit Medical is still operating, so perhaps going after them is an option.

I have not personally sued but I want to. Unfortunately I am not sure how to go about it either. I did read this article which might be of interest. At some point I think almost all Slimband patients will have to have their bands removed. https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/gastric-band-surgery-marketplace-1.4479735 If you want to chat in person, add me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennifercoulter

I am definitely interested in a lawsuit against Slimband. I have lost thousands of dollars in pay due to having to take unpaid sick leave (in fact, I am lucky to even still be employed). Also, I'm told that almost everyone will need to eventually have to have it removed (mine hasn't been yet). My personal e-mail is jenannecoulter@yahoo.ca if you would like to connect with me. Jennifer, Ottawa

I think a class action lawsuit should be filed to covered the cost of removal and the pain and suffering that patients have gone through. Would anybody know how to get that started?