Merritt man filing complaint after derogatory comments made by Kamloops physiotherapist

MERRITT — Robert Munro of Merritt has been off work since early December when he was hurt on the job as a furniture delivery man. Through his ongoing WorkSafeBC claim, Munro was referred to a physiotherapist in Kamloops at Royal Inland Hospital. After making his first trip into Kamloops on Friday (March 10), Munro checked his WorkSafe claim online, finding some surprising comments made about him by the therapist. That’s led Munro to begin filing formal complaints with Interior Health, WorkSafe and the therapist’s professional college.

Checking into his WorkSafeBC claim, Munro saw himself being labelled as an “uneducated redneck” who “probably has a DUI.” That’s the first of multiple eyebrow-raising statements made by Kamloops physiotherapist Martin Giguere about a client he had just met hours earlier.

“First of all, ‘Uneducated massive giant p***y. Very, very pain focused.’ That’s what he said about me,” said Munro.

Other comments included, “So second, he lives in Merritt and he has no license. Would not be surprised. His uneducated lowlife style led him to a DUI,” and “As I said, redneck hick to death, uneducated, seems to fear his own shadow (sic).”

“I read the report and thought, ‘This isn’t right.’ Tell me what kind of person would want to go back to the guy if he is treating patients like this. It’s unthought-of [and not] even remotely professional,” said Munro.

Equally as outraged by the comments was Robert’s wife Jessica, who used the word “flabbergasted” to explain her mindset.

“[I] saw red when I read it,” she said. “You want to talk about me, you can talk about me. Don’t talk about my family. It makes me very upset. My heart hurt for him. I’ve never seen him so heart broken over something. I can’t even look at it.”

Munro saved the screenshots on Monday (March 13). Since then, the cruel language has been removed from the ‘Communication’ tab on Robert’s WorkSafe claim. Munro doesn’t know who removed it or why.

Robert and Jessica have been in touch with with both Interior Health and WorkSafeBC to file complaints and have been informed by WorkSafe that an investigation is underway. They are also planning to contact the College of Physical Therapists of B.C.

Robert confirmed that the out-of-left-field comments left on his profile have not affected his overall claim with WorkSafe. His message to the Kamloops physiotherapist was poignant and a lesson for all.

“If I had a message for him — don’t judge a book by it’s cover. Because I’m one guy who would rather give his shirt off his own back to help another person. [Don’t] judge them by what they look like or how they act,” said Munro.

CFJC News reached out to Giguere for comment on the story but he did not return the call.

Interior Health provided a statement from Jayme Newton, Thompson Cariboo Clinical Operations Director.

“We are currently investigating this complaint. We have only learned of these concerns. We can say that the language from this transcript is not what we would expect from an Interior Health employee regarding a patient or client and we will be following up on these concerns. While I cannot speak to individual personnel issues, Interior Health does have a code of conduct that outlines expectations for all employees, including our duty to be respectful and compassionate to the individuals we serve,” stated Newton.