Reference no: EM132854367
Question - The family of a Brampton man who killed himself while under suicide watch at a hospital filed a $12.5 million lawsuit against the William Osler Health System Wednesday.
At a news conference Wednesday, Prashant Tiwari's father and brother said they still don't have answers about the 20-year-old's death in June.
"In terms of not knowing what happened, it's frustrating. It's extremely aggravating," said Gautam Tiwari, Prashant's 18-year-old brother, with tears in his eyes.
Prashant died after hanging himself with his hospital gown in a bathroom at the Brampton Civic Hospital just 10 days after being voluntarily admitted into the psychiatric unit. Staff were supposed to check on him every 15 minutes but Prashant was left alone for nearly three hours, his family says.
The family is suing William Osler Health System - the corporation overseeing Brampton Civic Hospital - for wrongful death and breach of privacy.
Michael Smitiuch, the family's lawyer, said the Tiwari family is also calling on the chief coroner of Ontario to launch an inquest.
"Sadly this is not an isolated incident," said Smitiuch at the conference. "This is a crisis which needs to be confronted."
In October, a CTV W5 investigation revealed that approximately 300 suicidal patients have killed themselves while under hospital care in Canada in the last decade.
A previous request for an inquest was rejected by the provincial Coroner's Office in November. The request for reconsideration of the decision was then referred to the chief coroner's office, said Smitiuch.
In an email to the Star, a spokesperson for the chief coroner's office said the review of the decision is "pending."
The family hopes that the lawsuit - which lists the hospital and 18 doctors, nurses and staff as defendants - prompts other hospitals to review their standard of care for high-risk patients.
The statement of claim alleges the defendants failed to ensure Prashant was denied materials he could use to harm himself, failed to "adequately monitor" patients, misdiagnosed Prashant's mental health issue and acted with "reckless disregard" for his life.
The document also alleges 12 defendants accessed Prashant's personal file without authorization "for reasons not yet known at this time."
Six of the snooping staff have since been fired, Prashant's father, Rakesh, told the Star in November, saying he was told of the breach by senior hospital staff last year.
A spokesperson with William Osler said the organization had not yet received notice of legal action from the family on Wednesday.
"While we do not comment on any individual patient case, we have and continue to express our sincere condolences for the Tiwari family's loss; we will continue to support the family to the best of our ability," wrote spokesperson Cara Francis in an email. "We have shared all findings of our review of the case with the family, as well as the actions we have taken to address the recommendations and enhance our systems and processes."
Prashant's family has been unable to access details about his death because the hospital put the investigation into his death under the Quality of Care Information Protection Act.
The act, created in 2004 to allow health professionals to openly discuss medical errors, lets hospitals keep investigations secret - even from family members.
Ontario's health minister launched a review of the act in July, following Prashant's death and articles by the Star. A report on the review is expected to be released "shortly," a ministry spokesperson said Wednesday
Required -
1. What happened to Prashant Tiwari in June 2014?
2. Why is Prashant Tiwari's family suing Brampton Civic Hospital (WOHS)?
3. Do you think Prashant Tiwari's family deserves compensation from the Brampton Civic Hospital?
4. What is the Quality of Care Information Protection Act?
5. Should the Brampton Civic Hospital (WOHS) be held liable for this tragedy? Yes/No, explain.