Fellow physicians were complaining about Rajgopal Menon at least as far back as 1998, five years after the pathologist was hired by Miramichi Regional Hospital in New Brunswick. But it was a chance reference in a complaint letter eight years later that sparked a judicial inquiry and led to him being stripped of his licence.
A woman had written to complain about the treatment given her mother, who died eight hours after arriving in the emergency ward. But it wasn't the complaint about the emergency room physician that set off the loudest alarm bell. In the same letter, the woman noted that her mother had been incorrectly described as a heavy smoker by Dr. Menon, who did her autopsy.
Growing concern about his work led to an independent audit, which looked at 227 breast and prostate biopsies he had done in 2004 and 2005. Incomplete results were found in 18 per cent of the cases and 3 per cent had been misdiagnosed.
The accuracy of thousands of cases was called into question and an inquiry headed by retired judge Paul Creaghan started in early May. It heard more than three weeks of testimony in Moncton before taking a short break and then moving to Miramichi. It is now on hold and will return to Moncton in early September for the final witnesses.
The witnesses so far have included Rosemary Henderson, who audited the pathologist's work, and a 1990s-era subordinate to Dr. Menon, who said he noticed problems back then.
Dariusz Strzelczak testified that he informed the Canadian Medical Protective Association, which he said told him discrepancies he found could be isolated incidents. Intimidated by his superior's experience, he said did not pursue the matter.
The inquiry has also heard from Dr. Menon. He described an overwhelming workload at the lab, testifying that he took no vacation in 2005 and 2006 and was away only five days in those two years, after his mother died.
He also apologized to patients but said that, while all pathology analysis is open to interpretation, he had not been aware of any problems in his work.
“Pathology is not cut and dry,” he said. “There are grey areas.”
Mr. Creaghan's report, which will not assess criminal or civil liability, is due by the first of next year.
