Tuktoyaktuk woman files $6M lawsuit claiming N.W.T. doctor sterilized her without consent

A woman from Tuktoyaktuk is alleging that an N.W.T. doctor permanently sterilized her without her consent, and is seeking $1 million in punitive damages against Dr. Andrew Kotaska and $5 million from the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority as his employer, among other damages.

In a statement of claim filed in the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories on April 12, 2021, the woman alleges that during surgery to address a painful cyst on her right ovary, Kotaska removed both her right and left ovaries and both fallopian tubes, rendering her sterile.

"Dr. Kotaska's conduct was high-handed, oppressive and malicious," the claim states.

None of the allegations have been proven in court. CBC is not naming the woman due to the private nature of the allegations.

The claim argues that Kotaska, an obstetrician/gynecologist, ignored the woman's stated wishes and "ignored the warnings from colleagues" that he was not authorized to remove her left ovary and left fallopian tube. 

The claim references the woman's recollection, an alleged letter by Kotaska to the nurse in charge at the Rosie Ovayuak Health Centre in Tuktoyaktuk, and an anesthesiologist's notes and records provided to Stanton Territorial Hospital's former medical director.

CBC has not seen the documents the statement of claim refers to. 

The woman first sought medical help for abdominal and pelvic pain in July of 2019 and underwent a remote ultrasound. 

That's when the woman was referred to Kotaska, the claim states.

The claim states that Kotaska asked the woman if she would want to undergo a tubal ligation, and asked if her husband would consider a vasectomy. 

The woman and her partner already have children and told Kotaska they did not want permanent birth control and said they were considering having more children, the claim states.

The claim paraphrases a letter Kotaska allegedly wrote to the nurse in charge at the Rosie Ovayuak Health Centre in September of 2019. It says Kotaska wrote that he believed the woman wished to get a tubal ligation and no longer reproduce.

In November of that year, the woman and Kotaska signed a consent form for further examination and the possible removal of the right ovary and fallopian tube, the claim states.

According to the claim, the anesthesiologist who was present later noted that during the surgery, Kotaska said, "Let's see if I can find a reason to take the left tube."

The claim also states that the anesthesiologist told Stanton Hospital's medical director at the time that Kotaska removed the woman's left ovary and fallopian tube despite the woman's wishes and the details of the signed consent form.

The claim states that the anesthesiologist noted in his report that he and the registered nurse present "reminded Dr. Kotaska that the plaintiff did not consent" to the removal of the left tube and ovary.

The claim states that the anesthesiologist's comments in a consultation report "indicate he felt remorse" for the woman, who learned that she'd been sterilized the day after the procedure. 

The hospital's medical director at the time apologized to the woman and said the incident would be reviewed, the claim states.

Kotaska, reached by phone, declined to comment on the lawsuit and said he only learned of it on Feb. 21. 

Kotaska told CBC in an email on Wednesday evening that his legal counsel will be filing a statement of defence. 

The anesthesiologist did not respond to multiple messages left by CBC and the hospital's former medical director declined to comment. 

A spokesperson for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, which manages N.W.T. complaints, said they cannot disclose if or when a complaint was filed due to privacy laws.

Civil claim distinct from southern class actions

The claim notes that the woman, who is Inuk, "belongs to a class that has been historically targeted by eugenics movements and … continues to suffer overt and systemic racism."

The woman's lawyer, Steven Cooper, who is involved in class actions relating to forced sterilization in southern Canada, said his client's claim has been filed in civil court and is separate from ongoing class actions.

The claim states that Kotaska is a "person of means" and was the president of the N.W.T.'s medical association and similar alleged behaviour must be discouraged, and that the territorial government failed to provide "appropriate cultural training for its physicians."

The Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority and Health Minister Julie Green both declined to comment for this story.

"Minister Green has said that she can't comment on matters before the court," a spokesperson for the minister wrote to CBC in an e-mail.

A spokesperson for the health authority wrote in an e-mail that the authority "cannot comment on this matter as it is currently before the courts. For the same reason Dr. Kotaska is not available to speak on this matter."