Winnipeg police say they are launching an investigation to see if criminal charges are warranted in the death of Brian Sinclair, a homeless aboriginal man who died after waiting 34 hours in a hospital's emergency room.
Sinclair, a double amputee who used a wheelchair, had gone to the emergency room at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg because of a bladder infection in September 2008.
Toronto lawyer Clayton Ruby had been calling on police to investigate the death, saying there were reasonable grounds to believe a criminal offence took place.
Police said Sinclair's family was being notified of the investigation.
Sinclair's family has filed a $1.1-million lawsuit against the regional health authority, the Manitoba government and the medical staff who were working at the time of death.
An inquest into Sinclair's death will also to be held, but a date has not been set.
Sinclair, 45, went to the emergency room on Sept. 19, 2008 after being referred there by a doctor.
Video footage shows that he went to the triage desk and spoke to an aide before wheeling into the waiting room.
A day and a half later, a person in the waiting room approached security saying they thought Sinclair was dead.
Hospital officials have said Sinclair did not formally present himself to the triage desk and was not properly assigned a nurse. The chair of the regional health association said in the day's following Sinclair's death it was clear the system failed.
Family members say that justice needs to be served.
"Someone needs to take responsibility," said cousin Russell Sinclair. "Somebody needs to be accountable for what happened."
Police have not said what evidence they are seeking in the death, or if anyone could face charges. However, it's expected that the video footage will play a major part in the investigation.
If criminal charges are laid and the case goes before the courts, it could be a unique case in Canada's legal history, said Sinclair family lawyer Vilko Zbogar.
"The circumstances that happened to Brian Sinclair were unlike anything we've seen and call for an appropriate response. We have that today," he said Friday.
The Winnipeg Regional Health authority, which overseas all the city's hospitals, released a short statement on Friday, saying it would co-operate fully with any probe.
The authority also said that mistakes have occurred in the past, and that the death could have been avoided.
Still, officials with the authority have said that "no one person was responsible" in the case, and that they believe police will come to the same conclusion.
With files from The Canadian Press and CTV's Jill Macyshon
