Province sued over 2015 death of woman on remand

The family of a young woman who died at a Saskatchewan correctional facility is suing the provincial government.

Breanna Kannick passed away on Aug. 20, 2015, while on remand at the White Birch Remand Centre in Regina. In a statement of claim, lawyers representing Kannick’s family allege the province and 11 individuals working at the remand facility “failed in their duties to take reasonable steps to ensure that Breanna was reasonably safe upon the premises.”

According to the statement of claim, which contains allegations not yet proven in court, Kannick did not receive proper medical assessment or treatment when she was brought to White Birch.

It alleges she “repeatedly asked for medical attention” but was refused.

“No doctor ever attended Breanna, not was she taken to the hospital,” reads the statement.

Kannick had diarrhea and was vomiting, but “at no point did guards, nurse, staff or employees look into providing medical attention and/or treatment,” the claim says.

She, according to the claim, repeatedly asked to be taken to a doctor or hospital but, “these requests were repeatedly denied, mocked, ignored nor were they otherwise acted upon in a timely fashion.”

According to the claim, Kannick hit her head minutes before she passed away and the guards “did nothing to check on her after her fall and striking her head.”

The statement says staff attempted to place an oxygen mask on her after she fell and claims “one worker’s certification had expired regarding first aid and CPR and attempts at resuscitation were negligently performed.”

“By the time an ambulance was summoned, Breanna had already sustained catastrophic injuries,” says the statement of claim.

A statement from the province said, “As this matter is before the courts we cannot comment at this time.” No statement of defence has yet been filed by the province and it is possible any further court proceedings are put on hold until an inquest takes place.

An inquest into the 21-year-old’s death was to begin March 6, but that was delayed to do further testing on Kannick’s vomit. It remains unclear if a new inquest date has been set.

Legal counsel for Kannick, as well as government bodies involved, had been provided disclosures in preparation of the inquest.

Those included an autopsy report and investigation reports into the death.

Kannick’s family is claiming special damages for out-of-pocket expenses, including for costs related to travel, the funeral and legal fees.

At the time of her death, Ministry of Justice officials said it was after Kannick had gone into “medical distress.”

After her death, a review of operations was done by the Ministry of Justice. That resulted in around $400,000 in extra spending on the facility, most of which was used to ensure there was a larger presence of medical professionals on-site.