Mother of teen who died of OD in youth jail sues province, paramedics

A Saskatoon mother believes her son died as a result of the negligence of local paramedics and staff at Kilburn Hall Youth Centre, where the 17-year-old boy was detained when he overdosed on crystal methamphetamine in 2015.

The plaintiff — who cannot be identified because it would breach a publication ban on her son’s identity — is suing the provincial government and MD Ambulance (now called Medavie Health Services) for $30,000 in damages for the grief and loss of guidance, care and companionship of her son.

The lawsuit says the ministry is responsible for the care of all youth in its custody and alleges that it breached its duty by “negligently failing to exercise all reasonable care, skill, diligence and competence with respect to their supervision, treatment and care of the deceased.”

The teen was facing charges under the Youth Criminal Justice Act for allegedly breaching a community supervision order when he was found unresponsive in his cell on July 29, 2015. He died early the next morning. An autopsy determined the cause of death was a meth overdose. Kilburn staff should have known the boy was continuing to use drugs while in custody, as he told staff he was overdosing and needed to be taken to a hospital, according to the statement of claim filed last week.

Instead, staff decided to monitor the teen, saying he had previously falsely claimed to have taken drugs and that similar “medical episodes” had resolved in the past, the lawsuit alleges.

Paramedics were called after the teen lost consciousness. He was given medication in the ambulance that caused him to go into cardiac arrest, the lawsuit says. It claims the ambulance service knew, or ought to have known, that could have been the outcome, and therefore failed to provide proper medical care. Statements of claim contain allegations that have not been proven in court.

Corrections spokesman Drew Wilby said the ministry was unaware of the lawsuit and the allegations it contains.

“As the matter is apparently before the court, we will not be commenting at this time,” Wilby said.

In addition to the $30,000 in general damages, the teen’s mother is also seeking special, punitive and aggravated damages, to be decided at trial.

An inquest into the teen’s death was held in November 2017 and ended with recommendations that included providing youth facility staff with training on drug overdoses and how to take vital signs.