Fraser Health seeks to stay Eagle Ridge doctor’s civil suit, argues dispute belongs in arbitration

Fraser Health is asking the B.C. Supreme Court to stay a civil lawsuit brought by an emergency physician who says she was forced to resign due to intolerable and dangerous working conditions at Eagle Ridge Hospital.

In a notice of application filed July 31, the health authority argued Dr. Kaitlin Stockton’s claims must be addressed through arbitration, as required by a binding dispute resolution clause in her physician services contract.

“The relationship . . . is defined within and governed by the contract,” the health authority argued in its application, referring to the physician services agreement signed by both Fraser Health and the Columbian Emergency Physicians Association, of which Stockton is a member.

Stockton filed her lawsuit in June, alleging constructive dismissal – meaning Fraser Health failed to live up to their contract – after years of overcapacity, understaffing, and what she described as a persistent failure to protect patients and staff. 

The civil claim provides a detailed account, alleging a “toxic” and unsafe work environment at both Eagle Ridge and Royal Columbian Hospitals, overcrowded emergency departments, insufficient resources, and a pattern of violent incidents that left health-care workers physically and emotionally harmed.

Some of these episodes occurred with little or no security intervention, and the hospital lacked the resources or procedures to adequately manage safety concerns, according to the claim.

Staffing shortages exacerbated the problem, the lawsuit alleged, with up to six emergency shifts per day left unfilled and patients sometimes waiting up to 14 hours to be seen. Stockton claims doctors were experiencing burnout and distress from being unable to provide safe care

In November 2024, emergency staff at Eagle Ridge requested a code orange, cancellation of elective surgeries, and ambulance diversions due to overcrowding, according to the lawsuit. Those requests were denied, but the department head did permit a public sign to be posted in the ER waiting room, warning patients of long waits and a lack of resources.

That sign quickly spread on social media and garnered media coverage. Rather than investigating the issues, Fraser Health removed the sign and issued a public statement dismissing its contents as “false,” Stockton said.

According to the lawsuit, Stockton was identified through security footage as the person who posted the sign. 

She alleged she was then reprimanded by the hospital’s medical director, accused of professional misconduct, and threatened with the loss of her hospital privileges or a formal complaint to the College of Physicians and Surgeons unless she apologized. Stockton contended these actions amounted to retaliation, and that she was singled out and “bullied” by the health authority for trying to speak out about patient safety.

The civil claim seeks $600,000 in damages, including a year’s lost income, as well as aggravated and punitive damages for bad faith treatment and reputational harm.

Fraser Health has not filed a statement of defence and denies that the lawsuit should proceed in court at all.

In its application, it argued the physician services contract includes an arbitration clause requiring that disputes over the contract’s interpretation, application, or alleged breach be resolved first through mediation and, if unresolved, through binding arbitration.

Fraser Health says it formally invoked that process on July 17 by referring the matter to mediation. Stockton agreed to participate the next day, but noted that her consent was “without prejudice” to the civil litigation.

The health authority stated that under the Arbitration Act, once one party initiates the contractual dispute resolution process, the court must stay the proceedings unless the arbitration agreement is found to be null, inoperative, or incapable of being performed.

It further contended the core issues in the lawsuit – including whether Stockton was an employee and whether the health authority failed in its obligations – require interpretation of the contract and therefore fall within the scope of the arbitration clause.

The application is scheduled to be heard on November 19 in Vancouver. Until then, Fraser Health maintains that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear the case.

None of the allegations in Stockton’s lawsuit or Fraser Health’s application have been tested in court or arbitration.