Mother’s lawsuit claims negligence led to the death of a teenager at the Health Sciences Center

WARNING: This story contains discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, see the end of this story for resources.

The family of a teenager who committed suicide in a Winnipeg hospital is suing the city’s health authority and some of its medical staff for alleged negligence they say led to or materially contributed to the girl’s death.

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority is vicariously liable for the suicide death of a 17-year-old at the Health Sciences Center early last year, according to a statement of claim filed this week by the teen’s mother.

The lawsuit alleges that the 17-year-old entered the hospital’s emergency department on March 6, 2023, after expressing suicidal thoughts to a school counselor.

The teen requested a triage nurse to admit her to the hospital’s mental health unit, but the nurse told her she needed to consult with a doctor, the lawsuit said.

That nurse, identified only as Jane Doe, is named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

A doctor, who is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, denied the request, according to the statement of claim, and the teen was moved to a room under the care of another unidentified nurse, named in the lawsuit as Brenda Doe. She is also mentioned as a suspect.

According to the lawsuit, the 17-year-old told her mother — who had left so the nurse could talk to her daughter privately — that she had been verbally abused by the nurse while they were alone in the room, and that she was told she would. was given time to calm down and sent home,” the lawsuit said.

It is alleged that the teen was irritated and told her mother that she wanted to go to the washroom, where she attempted to kill herself. On March 10, 2023, she was declared brain dead.

Nurse was dismissive: statement of claim

The statement of claim states that the teenager suffered from a mental illness and had previously been admitted to the mental health unit for similar complaints.

It says the nurse failed to advocate for the teen and dismiss her mental condition, and that she and the doctor also failed to consult a child psychiatrist or other specialist in the case.

The lawsuit says they, as well as the triage nurse, were negligent and vicariously liable for the death because they failed to take an adequate history or confiscate her belongings.

They also did not recognize her as a suicide risk and did not inform the mother that she should not leave her daughter alone, the report alleges. The names of the two nurses were not known to the plaintiff.

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority was also negligent for not having a suicide prevention protocol and “failing to instruct its employees to inquire about and confiscate” items such as belts, shoelaces, cords and computer cables, the lawsuit said.

The plaintiff is seeking more than $130,000 in damages for the teen’s family, including funeral costs.

No defense statements have been filed and none of the allegations in the lawsuit have been tested in court.

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If you or someone you know is struggling with this, you can get help here:

If you’re concerned that someone you know is at risk of suicide, you should talk to him or her about it, says the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention. Here are some warning signs:

• Suicidal thoughts.
• Substance abuse.
• Aimlessness.
• Tension.
• The feeling of being trapped.
• Hopelessness and helplessness.
• Intake.
• Fury.
• Recklessness.
• Mood swings.