ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Premier Danny Williams stunned reporters today by openly stating that one of his province's health boards would lose a class-action lawsuit over flawed breast-cancer tests.
The Newfoundland leader, who said he was speaking as a lawyer and not as the premier, said the Eastern Health Authority should settle the lawsuit out of court.
Asked if the health authority could win the class-action suit, Williams said flatly, 'No.'
"In my opinion, there is liability here on behalf of -- I would think -- down the line through Eastern Health for the problems that have arisen here," Williams' said.
He said the health authority should try to settle the suit out of court.
Williams' comments on the lawsuit coincided with the adjournment of a provincial inquiry that is examining how 383 breast-cancer patients were given inaccurate results of tests. Over the past few weeks, the inquiry has heard that in some cases patients weren't told for years that their tests were not correct.
Some patients died before proper notification about the inaccuracies, which were first detected in 2005. The treatment options for cancer patients were determined based on hormone-receptor test results.
The provincial government has revealed that 24 patients have not yet been informed of their breast-cancer tests -- three years after their retests were done at a Toronto hospital.
"My preference is not to see these people put through any further anguish," Williams said.
One of the roughly 200 patients involved in the class action suit welcomed the premier's remarks.
"It is my hope that Eastern Health will follow the premier's lead in this and be totally co-operative," Gerry Rogers told The Canadian Press.
"It's great if patients don't have to go to court because it's long, it's arduous, it's stressful."
Peter Dawe of the Canadian Cancer Society told ATV News that he hoped the premier's comments would bring a quicker resolution to the lawsuit.
With a report from NTV's Michael Connors and files from The Canadian Press
