Pubdate: Tue, 27 Nov 2007
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2007 The StarPhoenix
Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
Author: Betty Ann Adam

FAMILY WATCHES SUIT AGAINST ALLEGED DRUG DEALER

The family of a woman who is suing her alleged drug dealer for 
failing to help her after she overdosed on crystal meth wants to take 
the profit out of selling deadly drugs.

"It comes down to selling a substance that can kill people, to 
getting rid of the drug and trying to make it so it's not profitable 
for them to sell it," said Georgina Bergen, whose daughter, Sandra 
Bergen, suffered a heart attack in 2004 after using methamphetamine 
she allegedly obtained from Clinton Davey.

The lawsuit brought by Sandra Bergen and her parents, Stan and 
Georgina Bergen, against Clinton Davey and his mother, Dalis Davey, 
continues Dec. 6, when a Queen's Bench justice will consider the 
Bergens' motion to find Davey in contempt of court.

The Bergens claim Davey refused to answer questions during sworn 
testimony about the night Bergen took enough meth she ended up in 
hospital with a heart attack and failing kidneys and liver.

In documents filed at Queen's Bench, the Bergens claim Davey 
professed not to remember certain things about the early morning of 
May 5, 2004, even though his answers to certain other questions show 
he remembered many details from the occasion.

The Bergens are also asking Davey's statement of defence be struck 
out as if he had never entered it.

Claims in the civil suit have not been proven in court.

Davey and his mother could not be reached for comment Monday. The 
alleged overdose incident took place in the home of Dalis Davey.

At least one other family of a person who over-dosed on crystal meth 
is watching the case before deciding if they will bring a similar 
suit, Georgina Bergen said Monday.

"It will be precedent setting if we do win," she said.

"No one's ever sued a drug dealer before. This will be the first 
case, if we win," she said.

The Bergens sued to recover medical costs on behalf of the province, 
as well as their own out of pocket expenses and general damages in 
excess of $50,000.

The case has ignited public debate, with letters to the editor in 
support of both sides.

While many people criticized Bergen for using the drug in the first 
place, the family has also received letters of support and even a 
couple of modest cheques to help with legal costs, Georgina said.

Sandra Bergen has recovered almost completely but there are some 
lasting medical issues as a result of the over-dose and subsequent 
heart attack and coma, her mother said.

Moments after smoking the drug, "It felt like somebody had stabbed a 
pencil into my temple and right into my brain," Sandra Bergen 
previously told The StarPhoenix.

She felt strange and began sweating profusely and vomiting.

She coughed blood but waited several hours before heading home. Soon, 
her legs and arms began turning blue. Georgina took her daughter to a 
doctor and she was sent to a hospital in Biggar. Tests revealed 
Sandra had had a heart attack.

She was taken to Royal University Hospital where she slipped into a 
coma, her heart functioning at seven per cent capacity.

Doctors told her parents she wouldn't make it through the night, but 
she recovered and was released from hospital days later.

Sandra Bergen now works as a personal care aide and is often invited 
to talk to high school students about the dangers of using crystal 
meth, Georgina Bergen said.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart