A local man is suing Burnaby Hospital, B.C. Emergency Health services, a paramedic and a nurse for a total of nearly $42 million for an emergency room incident in July 2017.
Burnaby’s Dr. Emotions Paradise Universe – formerly known as Osama Yassein Al-Salami – says he was assaulted, slandered and then brutally arrested at Burnaby Hospital on July 7, 2017.
He had come to the ER via ambulance with a painful case of sciatica, according to a notice of civil claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court.
After a painful wait, according to the filing, Universe told a nurse at the triage desk that she was “pushing” him to leave and that she’d “be responsible.”
Universe said Kristina Zerr, a nurse, had then tried to stop him from leaving and that a paramedic, Casey Forslund, had stepped in and punched him in the shoulder.
Then, as he made his way from the hospital, Universe said he was arrested by three RCMP officers who cuffed his hands and feet in “heavy metal chains.”
Universe said Zerr and Forslund accused him of voicing “terrorists and jihadists talk” and threatening to kill them and all Canadians by shooting and chopping them up.
Universe says he spent 30 hours in jail and was then charged with uttering threats – charges that have since been stayed.
The incident has done “permanent damage” to Universe’s “reputation and character,” he said.
Among the damages sought by Universe is $15 million in compensation for lost income as a “specialized surgeon” and “university professor.”
Further, he said Burnaby Hospital has a history of intentionally treating him badly and humiliating him because he is Muslim and Arabic.
Twice, hospital staff have called him Osama bin Laden, he said.
That’s why he changed his name to a “full English name,” he said.
“To make them and everyone stop offend(ing) and insult(ing) (me),” he said.
The defendants in the suit are denying Universe’s claims.
They say Universe repeatedly expressed frustration to the triage nurse “in a manner that was aggressive and not respectful.”
“The plaintiff’s behavior escalated to a point where the triage nursing staff felt personally afraid and concerned about the safety of the other patients in the emergency department waiting area,” states their response to civil claim.
Zerr and Forslund came into the ER to calm him down but were unsuccessful, according the document.
“The plaintiff became more aggressive and unpredictable, and was making statements that were perceived by the defendants as threatening and frightening to them and concerning for the safety of others in the emergency department waiting area,” states the response.
Police were called and Zerr, Forslund and another nurse gave statements to police, but they deny that the “sense, meaning or innuendo of the statements was that the plaintiff was a terrorist, jihadist or criminal.”
“The Statements were made in the context of the communication with the RCMP and without specific intended innuendo, and merely to recite the facts of the interactions with the plaintiff to the best of the defendants’ abilities.”
Forslund also denies assaulting Universe.
The defendants called the notice of civil claim “scandalous, vexatious and an abuse of process” and called for the case to be dismissed.
None of the claims has been proven in court.
