by Dan Merchant

Published in The Agora newspaper, Vancouver B.C.

http://agoranews.org/news/one-man-vs-big-pharma

This summer marks seven years since a routine medical exam changed the course of Tim Moorley’s life. For four and a half years, Moorley has been seeking justice against pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, for harm
they have caused him and countless others. His fight has been hindered
by suspicious behaviour in the medical system and a lack of cooperation
by the provincial government.

The BC father of 5 was an amateur boxer who happened to experience some pain in his feet while running. During a routine exam he was prescribed
the common pain medication Celebrex. For about three weeks the drug
seemed to work as prescribed, until the morning he woke up ill and found
he couldn’t walk.

Celebrex is a COX-2 inhibitor pill made by Pfizer that is used to treat acute pain. Like Vioxx, another COX-2 inhibitor, Celebrex has been
shown to increase the risk of heart attack by up to 250%, and increases
the risk of stroke and blood clots.

Unbeknownst to him, Moorley had been living with a heart condition called a patent foramen ovale (PFO.) PFOs occur in about 20% of the
population, but usually cause no symptoms, and can only be detected by
specialized tests. A PFO allows venous blood (low oxygen count) to
enter directly into the arteries, which can increase the risk of blood
clots entering the arteries.

It is believed the combination of a PFO and the drug Celebrex are what led to a blood clot in Moorley’s femoral artery, which, after months of
pain, resulted in a femoral bypass graft and an amputated toe. He has
since dealt with subsequent clots, amputations, and has a life
threatening hole in his heart.

After contacting Pfizer, Moorley’s family doctor learned that the case was not unique, and informed his patient that he could file a lawsuit
against Pfizer. Moorley sought legal council and retained the Vancouver
law firm of Pointer and Baxter. On January 5, 2005 a class action
lawsuit was filed in B.C. Supreme court for damages caused by Celebrex.

Two years after the femoral bypass, Moorley sustained a minor injury that would not heal, and caused him to become very ill once again. Due
to his recent medical history he was referred to Surrey Memorial for an
echocardiogram (echo). On December 8, 2006 the test was performed. The
results were read by a doctor who then decided to do a bubble study.
After the study was completed, the doctor informed Moorley that there
was a hole in his heart, and recommended he see his GP as soon as
possible.

The next morning Moorley saw his GP, who had received the results from the cardiograph, but not the bubble test. When contacted later the same
day, the doctor from the hospital denied ever seeing Moorley. When
pressed, he admitted to reading the echo, but claimed he did not perform
a bubble test and that there was no record of one. Three weeks later,
the administration at Surrey Memorial informed Moorley that they found a
vial of saline solution (used for bubble studies) that had been
allocated to him, but it was the only record they had. His file was
amended to include the find, but still did not include any information
on the outcome of the test. Due to the lack of medical evidence,
Pointer and Baxter had to drop the case, leaving Moorley as the Legal
Council on Record for the class action suit.

In March 2007, Moorley saw Dr. McCuaig to have stitches removed from his recent finger amputation. After hearing the story, Dr McCuaig agreed
to take Moorley on as a patient, and started trying to get another
bubble test scheduled. After nearly a year of having his requisitions
denied by all hospitals in the lower mainland, Dr. McCuaig went to the
media for help. In April 2008, The Surrey Leader published an article
about Dr. McCuaig not being able to get Moorley a bubble study. The
article put pressure on the Fraser Health Authority and they agreed to
schedule a test for May 8, 2008.

The May 8th bubble test was performed by Dr. Stephen Pearce who said the test looked fine. The echo technician, Dave Gardner, who happened to
be the most senior tech in the Lower Mainland, stood up and said, “I’m
uncomfortable with this.” He was told to shut up and sit down, but
refused to and walked out. After the test was complete Moorley and a
friend, who had filmed the procedure, were escorted out by security.

Disheartened by the inconsistent and suspicious proceedings, Moorley was forced to travel to Washington and pay out of pocket for another echo
and a bubble test. On September 30, 2008 at Washington North Cascade
Cardiology, Moorley was told that he was missing part of his heart. Dr.
McCuaig was faxed the results the next morning and when Moorley arrived
at his office to go over them, the Dr. admitted that his faith in the
medical system was shaken. Dr. McCuaig then added the files from North
Cascade Cardiology to Moorley’s medical record and began asking various
doctors around the lower mainland to perform open heart surgery.

Finally a surgeon agreed to take Moorley as a patient. He scheduled the necessary tests, but wanted to know why there were conflicting bubble
test results. When Moorley explained the story, the doctor told him he
would be unable to perform the surgery and had to drop him as a
patient. Dr. McCuaig received a private letter from Dr. Abrams
explaining his reason for dropping Moorley was the conflicting bubble
tests. Dr. McCuaig felt obligated to share the letter with Moorley, but
once Dr. Abrams found out that he had done so, Dr. McCuaig was
immediately removed from the clinic. The clinic would not give Moorley
any information about what had happened to Dr McCuaig.

On November 17 2009, Dr. Bernstein, a cardiologist at VGH, looked at the North Cascade Cardiology results and agreed that there appeared to be a
hole in Moorley’s heart. She set up a Transesophageal Echocardiogram to
get a better look at the shape of the hole and determine the best
course of action. Having recently experienced the questionable conduct
of various health care professionals, Moorley recorded the conversation
he had with Dr. Bernstein. When Moorley informed her that she had been
recorded, she refused to continue working with him.

Since his interaction with Dr Bernstein he has not seen another doctor.

In February 2010, Moorley discovered that Dr McCuaig was working at Delta Hospital. He and his wife confronted Dr. McCuaig in the hallway
of the hospital while a friend filmed. Dr. McCuaig admitted that the
standard of care had not been met in Moorley’s case and agreed to write a
letter to that effect. Moorley received the letter a few days later,
and it states that he has not received adequate medical treatment and if
there is no one willing to perform necessary tests and procedures
locally he should be sent somewhere else.

In Oct 22 2008, Moorley distributed copies of the North Cascade Cardiology images to everyone involved in the Pfizer case. One year
later Derek Mullin, the Pfizer lead legal council, contacted Moorley
offering him $50 000 to settle the case. This would mean all the other
plaintiffs would get nothing. He refused.

After his class action suit was dropped by Pointer and Baxter, and Moorley was made the legal council on record, he no longer has the
mechanism to distribute any money that would be awarded. Therefore he
is unable to represent the plaintiffs in the negotiations. In February
2007 he filed a small claims lawsuit against the Fraser Health Authority
for not providing him with the standard of care. When this case
reaches the BC Supreme court, it will enable him to continue his pursuit
of Pfizer, as well as hold the associated care providers accountable
for their actions.

Tim Moorley was given a drug that was known to be dangerous, and then his test results were ‘lost’, faked, and further tests were withheld.
The medical professionals he trusted misled him and were not able or
willing to assist him with a treatable condition that now threatens his
life.

Drugs that are known to be dangerous are being promoted, marketed, and sold to us. As fellow citizens it’s time for us to wake up, and start
paying attention to what is happening to our medical system, and who is
behind it. The bottom line of big pharma’s influence is that it has
critically altered the way medicine is practiced. This is more than an
unfortunate story about one man - this is the reality we are living in
and we need to work together for justice and peace.