LONDON, ONT. - The province of Ontario has been slapped with two more lawsuits, claiming a total of $3.4 million in damages, in the death of an inmate at a troubled detention centre.
The family of Laura Straughan claims the province failed to provide proper medical care at Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre for the 25-year-old woman, who showed signs of declining health over several days before dying of pneumonia complicated by the H1N1 virus.
"It is shocking what is going on in there," Straughan's mother, Susan Duval, said of conditions at EMDC.
EMDC is one of Ontario's largest detention centres and, say guards and inmates, bursting at its seams and outdated.
Built for 150 inmates, the complex holds more than 400, with cells designed for single inmates holding three and other rooms refitted into cells.
The detention centre mixes hard-core criminals with those facing lesser charges, including some people serving sentences on weekends only and many inmates awaiting trial.
Two statements of claim are now filed in Ontario Superior Court.
One represents Straughan's mother, stepfather, sister, brother and young son and is seeking $1.4 million in damages.
"The (EMDC) is understaffed, overcrowded and has improper procedures. Even the procedures they had weren't followed," lawyer Gord Cudmore, representing the five family members, said.
A second statement of claim represents Straughan's daughter, 7, and the father of the girl, and is seeking $2 million in damages. Straughan's daughter "has a long life ahead and that life won't include her mother," Lisa Gunn, the lawyer representing the two, said.
A statement of claim includes allegations not yet proven in court.
The province has come under fire over conditions at EMDC the past year, with two coroner's inquests focusing on overcrowding and a lack of proper supervision of inmates, and a guards' protest over working conditions and a hiring freeze.
So far, the province has been silent in response on the inquests, with spokespersons for the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services only saying the inquest recommendations are under review.
A September inquest into the April 2009 death of inmate Randy Drysdale made the rare ruling of death by homicide after hearing testimony of an overcrowded jail run by inmates and too few guards without the proper tools.
His family filed a lawsuit in early November.
A June inquest into Straughan's 2009 death heard how the health of the young mother quickly spiraled down under a patchwork and stressed system of medical care.
"A tiny sprite of a girl who was always helping people and making people laugh," Straughan got mixed up with the wrong crowd in her 20s, her mother said.
According to testimony at the inquest, Straughan was arrested Nov. 8, 2009, on charges of assault and taken to EMDC the next day. She failed an H1N1 screening test on admission to EMDC, but that warning was never passed to nursing staff. Over the next few days, she showed symptoms that her health had deteriorated but didn't receive sufficient treatment.
Overnight Nov. 12 she complained of pain and fell out of bed, in need -- according to a doctor's testimony -- of aggressive medical treatment.
Early the morning of Nov. 13 Straughan stopped breathing, and her worried cellmate, who stayed by her side all night, called guards.
The guards couldn't revive her and she was taken to hospital, where she was declared dead.
"Many people saw Laura ask for help. Many inmates asked for help for Laura," Duval said. "I can't believe she is gone and it happened under these circumstances and nothing is being done about it."
