This year, the province’s Supreme Court ruled the doctor’s negligence when he provided post-operative care to a woman who had broken her femur (New window) (in English).
British Columbia Court of Appeal (New window) also ordered Dr. Hicks to pay more than $360,000 in damages for negligence while treating a young boy who broke his arm in 2006.
At the time, young Max McKee was taken care of by the surgeon at Langley Memorial Hospital. His arm bones were not replaced properly before being immobilized in a cast, leaving the boy with a lifelong deformity, the court ruled.
There’s nothing I can do, I can’t fix this distortion
regrets Max McKee, now 21 years old.
Over time, complaints about Dr. Hicks’ practice piled up. In the past 10 years, 7 civil actions have been brought against the doctor and have resulted in mutual agreements.
In response to most lawsuits, Dr. Hicks denied any negligence, describing the care he provided as appropriate and standard.
In one case in 2016, however, he admitted to performing hip surgery on a woman who actually needed knee surgery.
Through her attorneys, Tracy Hicks declined any interview requests.
In 2000, the surgeon made the front page of Vancouver Sun, as part of an investigation by journalist Rick Ouston. At the center of the case is the 1997 death of a young woman, Heidi Klompas, who had both her legs broken after being hit by a drunk driver in Surrey.
Dr Hicks was on call when the young woman was taken to Peace Arch Hospital in White Rock, but did not arrive until seven hours later.
The girl’s mother, Catherine Adamson, wonders 25 years later what impact the doctor’s inaction had on her daughter’s death a few weeks after the accident.
According to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia, (New window)the surgeon is not subject to any restrictions on his practice. A spokesperson, Susan Prins, reports that Dr. Hicks signed a voluntary undertaking limiting his professional practice to surgical assistance and administrative work.
A spokesperson for the Fraser Health Authority adds that the doctor no longer enjoys his privileges for surgical operations at the Langley Hospital or at other hospitals in the region.
With information from Bethany Lindsay