Inquiry opens into case of girl who died in sleep at group home
Eight-year-old had toxic buildup of sleep aid in her system when she died
An eight-year-old girl had more than four times the prescribed level of a sleep aid in her system when she died in an Edmonton group home, a fatality inquiry heard Monday.
Nevaeh Michaud died in her sleep on Jan. 5, 2014. Alberta’s Fatality Inquiry Review Board ordered an inquiry into her case that same year.
The inquiry, led by provincial court Judge E.A. Johnson, was scheduled to last four days.
Edmonton medical examiner Dr. Bernard Bannach testified Monday that the girl’s death from toxicity could have been caused by either a single overdose or from chronic buildup.
He could not determine her cause of death more precisely, he said.
Bannach said it is possible for the drug, chloral hydrate, to accumulate in the body, especially with regular doses. He said he has never seen a child die this way.
Erin Harding, a manager with Edmonton and Area Child and Family Services, testified about concerns regarding the accuracy of records that tracked how much of the medicine was administered to the girl.
Nevaeh’s prescription said she was to get five millilitres at 7 p.m. daily. If she couldn’t sleep, she could be given up to another 10 millilitres between midnight and 4 a.m.
Though the additional dose was, according to the girl’s doctor, supposed to be sporadic and not daily, after her death it appeared she had been getting the extra dose — the full 10 ml — almost every night.
According to the girl’s foster-mother, she was losing weight before her death. Because the dosage depended on the weight of the individual taking it, it was suggested this could have been a factor.
Her doctor didn’t see her during her last stint in the group home before her death.
Harding said her report on Mariam’s Promise, the organization running the home where Nevaeh died, was ultimately broader than the one death. She said they looked not just at the home, but at the organization as a whole.
Harding said they identified areas of improvement, but didn’t determine that the organization caused the girl’s death.
Testimony from other witnesses is expected to continue this week.