yes i won So I won the lawsuit against SLIMBAND IN TORONTO how do i collect

[Hanbe 3]

Dr.Lau was one of the owners of the clinic and he was negligent in providing the proper treatment and care. He also as a practising Doctor has to carry Errors and Ommissions Insurance for when he is negligent

[jenottawa 6]

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

[KimMac 1]

I am also someone who has had nothing but issues with this band (Slimband), which I paid over $25,000 for (I was financed thru them) the band which I had placed at a private clinic in Toronto in 2013. I didn’t/do not live in Toronto, so I had to fly up there & back, stay at a hotel. Factoring in the medications I was instructed to take post-op, along with the necessary OTC medications (stool softeners, gravel, etc), I am probably out around $30,000. Most important to me though, is not the money (that pisses me off) but it’s the day-to-day impact this goddamn thing is having. My quality of life has be adversely affected. Most recently, I have a distended upper abdominal area; chronic Constipation (I drink over 64 ounces of Water daily); nausea, vomiting and have looked into filing a lawsuit without success (firms I contacted weren’t interested). I am unable to be spontaneous in eating, because I never know/can’t predict when I will get what my husband has come to refer to as “backed up”. When I get “backed up”, I typically have been constipated, and then have a painful bowel movement, quickly followed by a swollen & tender upper abdominal area, nausea, dry heaves, then vomiting (bike usually as I’ve not eaten in the 12 hours prior to these attacks). The doctor who preformed my surgery was reprimanded by the College of Physicians & Surgeons in Ontario, & lost his license for 3 whole months (big deal) & has since relocated to practice in another area of Ontario the last I heard. During my surgery, he also did something that I wasn’t aware he would do/would ‘need’ to be done. He did something so I wouldn’t experience any heartburn or GERD...when I woke from surgery to find that out, I started to feel like I had made a mistake. See, I never, NEVER had any issue with acid reflux/heartburn...ever. I also woke from surgery with a pain in my shoulder & bruises on my body that I am unsure how they would have gotten there (upper arm, outer thigh). Other than the 1-week follow-up phone call, the clinic never did follow through on their promise of aftercare service & check-ins. I had called because I was concerned when I had my first ‘attack’ approximately 2 years after the band was installed, only to get a voicemail to leave a message, which never was returned & the symptoms abated. Then to make matters worse, if that is even possible, the clinic closed its doors a few years back, meaning I have been & am unable to have my band adjusted, which were always defills for me. These were another area of problematic treatment. Each time I went (only twice because there was a large period of time that Halifax didn’t have anyone doing this), I had requested a defill because I was vomiting after drinking water. When the ‘nurse’ wasn’t able to access my port...well, she said she wasn’t sure if she accessed it or not, my doubts and regrets were reinforced. I remember telling her the last time I was in, that I wanted it removed. She encouraged me to give it time, especially since we had just ‘defilled’. I remember that last time I went, it hurt when she inserted the strings & it felt as if it ‘hit’ something hard in my body (hard to explain, but a very weird sensation & it felt substantially different than the first time I had a defill). I seen that when she removed the syringe, it looked as if it were filled with blood, watered down blood, but not clear Fluid. She reassured me that it was ‘probably just some scar tissue’ that had developed around the port site and that was why it looked like blood was in the syringe. A few weeks after this interaction, when I attempted to book another defill, and to look into removal, I found out the clinic was closed. No advanced notice to its customers - I was still paying them via the financing they provided - paying for a service I was no longer able to receive. So here I am, 6 years later. I have lost weight, not as much as they said I would, but I attribute that to the fact that I can’t eat so many things, and when I do eat (rarely ever hungry), I am terrified of having an attack. It has negatively affected my work life, my personal life and, since I am waiting on a long list for bariatric surgery to remove this goddamn thing, my life for the foreseeable future. I really wish there were a class action lawsuit happening. My sister had the same procedure, and has had a similar journey, minus the ‘attacks’. I had done research prior to having Slimband installed and didn’t find much long term information. After having the procedure, and joining their on-line community, I realized that any negative comments/stories were removed/deleted/erased, as the clinic had control over the site. If anyone hears about a class action lawsuit, please contact me because I would be interested. I live in Nova Scotia, Canada. My e-mail is kemaclean@ yahoo.ca

As a almost 54 year old woman, I can honestly say there are very, very few things in my life that I regret - and my life has not been an easy one - Slimband is the only regret I have...and it is a huge one.

[KimMac 1]

Dr Yau was my surgeon as well. I have gone to my GP to have it removed; however, as with most surgeries deemed ‘elective’ (ie non-emergency), I am on a very long waitlist. I don’t expect to get my money back, I would be happy to just have this thing out of my body. Does anyone know of any private surgeons/options for removal? I am getting to the point that I am ready to take a kitchen knife to my own gut to get rid of it.

[jenottawa 6]

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.

[Kico1970 0]

Hi-- All too familiar to me...

I was a TLBC patient in Jan 2008.....MIDBAND band put in...major pain in left shoulder immediately following surgery.....no support from clinic....was successful loosing weight initially....but at the 5-6 year mark started to gain back. Have now gained 60% of weight back. Clinic now under new branding..etc will not support. I found Dr Yau a couple of years ago....got a referral...I have issues with heartburn/indigestion/pain in left lower abdomen...etc. He did agree to see me....literally yelled at me in his office saying the band is the not failure...that I am the failure and that I need to learn how to eat....bla bla bla...and that I needed to get serious and take a look at my life and stop blaming the band for what I am doing wrong. I was devastated and in tears. He agreed to do a scope - which was a waste of my time...all I heard was that I was fine and needed to learn how to eat healthy. That was the end. So now I have a failed band....I am unhappy....don't feel great most of the time....and can not get fills/defills and have this device now that I can't do anything with. I am interested in revision surgery but really can't put any more money into this. Do any of you fell Ontarians have any advice? This has cost so much.....the cost to myself both financially and emotionally....and the stress on my marriage...etc. This man should be ashamed of himself. I hope he has trouble sleeping at night while he rolls on his millions of dollars which is likely stashed in his mattress.

[Travelher 915]

On 4/26/2019 at 5:38 PM, Kico1970 said:

Hi-- All too familiar to me...

I was a TLBC patient in Jan 2008.....MIDBAND band put in...major pain in left shoulder immediately following surgery.....no support from clinic....was successful loosing weight initially....but at the 5-6 year mark started to gain back. Have now gained 60% of weight back. Clinic now under new branding..etc will not support. I found Dr Yau a couple of years ago....got a referral...I have issues with heartburn/indigestion/pain in left lower abdomen...etc. He did agree to see me....literally yelled at me in his office saying the band is the not failure...that I am the failure and that I need to learn how to eat....bla bla bla...and that I needed to get serious and take a look at my life and stop blaming the band for what I am doing wrong. I was devastated and in tears. He agreed to do a scope - which was a waste of my time...all I heard was that I was fine and needed to learn how to eat healthy. That was the end. So now I have a failed band....I am unhappy....don't feel great most of the time....and can not get fills/defills and have this device now that I can't do anything with. I am interested in revision surgery but really can't put any more money into this. Do any of you fell Ontarians have any advice? This has cost so much.....the cost to myself both financially and emotionally....and the stress on my marriage...etc. This man should be ashamed of himself. I hope he has trouble sleeping at night while he rolls on his millions of dollars which is likely stashed in his mattress.

Kiko1970. Just go to your doctor and get a referral to have it removed. I know lots of people who’ve had removal and revision to bypass through ohip (bariatric network). I paid to have mine revised, privately , because I couldn’t wait (was aspirating in my sleep). But former banders make up a significant number of the patients in the Ontario bariatric network.

[Falie 0]

hey there,

i am so glad i found you guys here!

i would like to know more information about how to get slimband removal and how to make lawsuit. I had been suffering so long vomiting and difficult swallowing as well gain weight due this slimband was not helpful a lot. My doctor doesn't know who to referal to me for slimband removal. I am 25 and have no health insurance so i am kinda more debt would have paid removal sugery out of my pocket.

my email is falie93@hotmail.com

Edited May 24, 2019 by Falie

[marlin41 0]

I am interested in the class action law suit, does anyone have the lawyers name or firm name doing it? I have the band for 4 years and have recently started to suffer pain almost daily. I thought it might pass if I went on more liquid foods, but no such luck. I went to contact the clinic and see they are closed. I have no idea what to do now and just want my money back as I am learning the only option is to remove it.

Please if anyone knows any info please let me know

|Thanks

[jenottawa 6]

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.

[Frustr8 7,886]

Don't you wish someone could a lapband around that dude's neck and inflate it with Saline? I can't believe there is not a lawyer all the Provinces that would not do Contingency, surely someone in Ottawa,Montreal or Toronto itself! I know Canadians tend to be calmer temperment than your Red-Headed American cousins like me, but I believe There Must Be a comparable to Alan Dershowitz north of the Border! Bonnie Chance!

[jenottawa 6]

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!!

[Hanbe 3]

My understanding is the Class Action Law suit has already begun and it’s filed against the pharmaceutical company that created and sells the lapband which is a better law suit as they have the money to pay.

Can anyone confirm knowledge or know of this?

[jenottawa 6]

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

[Hanbe 3]

Wow that's interesting! I am going to check on CANLII and see if I can find any case law and see if there is anything and possibly its worthwhile to contact any of the lawyers and see if they would be interested …..if there are any. But I agree with what your saying if there isn't one we should all band together and approach a law firm and yes that works on contingency and see if we can instigate a class action that goes after the manufacturers of lapband, still include Dr Yau because he has errors and ommissions insurance and if he has enough claims against him eventually he wont be able to get insurance so then he can't practise but also so it goes against his liabity.