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The Queensway Carleton Hospital says it is not to blame in the 2012 murder of a Stittsville woman killed by her mentally ill and suicidal husband after he was released from the hospital.
The family of Theresa Lefebvre is suing the Queensway Carleton Hospital and the Ottawa police, alleging the two should have known Peter Lefebvre posed a threat to himself and others. The family also alleges that neither the police nor hospital warned Theresa Lefebvre or her family of the potential danger she was in.
According to the family’s lawsuit, Ottawa police did little to nothing after Theresa Lefebvre called to report her husband had assaulted her on March 9, 2012.
A little more than a month later, Peter Lefebvre viciously beat Theresa with a baseball bat in their Hartsmere Drive home. The volunteer hockey coach called police after the assault on Theresa and told them he had killed his wife, then drove to the nearby Stoney Swamp Conservation Area and hanged himself from a tree. A critically injured Theresa Lefebvre, who was beaten so badly she was barely recognizable to her family, spent a week in a coma in hospital before she died on April 18, 2012 from her massive injuries.
The couple, who had two sons, 13 and 15, had been going through a separation but were continuing to live in the same house.
The lawsuit also alleges that staff at the Queensway Carleton Hospital failed to recognize that Peter Lefebvre was volatile and a danger when they released him from hospital a week before he attacked Theresa Lefebvre. Peter Lefebvre had gone to the hospital suffering from severe depression, but was discharged days later. The family alleges Ottawa police should have followed up with the hospital to determine the risk to Theresa Lefebvre and were negligent in not warning her or her family of the heightened risk of violence.
The hospital also should have informed itself about Peter Lefebvre’s alleged history of violence toward his wife, a well-liked assistant manager at the Barrhaven Farm Boy grocery store who was described as a wonderful mother by her friends, according to the statement of claim.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of the couple’s two sons and their legal guardians, Theresa Lefebvre’s sister and brother-in-law, is seeking $1 million in damages for negligence, negligent investigation and breach of fiduciary duty.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
In a statement of defence filed last week, the Queensway Carleton Hospital said the care provided to Peter Lefebvre met acceptable hospital and nursing standards.
According to the statement, Peter Lefebvre attended the hospital’s emergency room on March 25, 2012 seeking help. Peter Lefebvre told them he had been clinically depressed for three years and had “initiated a suicide plan but then had changed his mind.”
The hospital alleges that Peter Lefebvre immediately came under the care of a number of doctors at the hospital. He was admitted and treated for a major depressive disorder, but was discharged on April 4, 2012 by his own doctor at Peter Lefebvre’s request. The family is also suing the unnamed doctor, who is identified only as “John Doe #3″ in the civil filing.
According to the statement of defence, Peter Lefebvre’s care was provided under the direction of his own doctors who had privileges at the hospital and they are not in law responsible for their conduct. They deny all of the family’s allegations and ask that the lawsuit against them be dismissed.
The family further alleges in the lawsuit that Ottawa police were negligent by failing to properly investigate the March 9 assault.
Theresa Lefebvre’s mother had previously told the Citizen that her daughter was bruised all over after she was thrown into a towel rack.
“The investigating officers failed to adequately, or at all, investigate the matter and failed to lay criminal charges, despite the fact that it was reasonably foreseeable that harm including death could occur,” read the family’s statement of claim.
Ottawa police have yet to file a statement of defence in the civil case, but told the Citizen in April 2012 that neither party wanted to leave the house on March 9 for safe refuge. At the time, police said they remain satisfied that they made the right decision to not lay criminal charges following the March incident. Peter Lefebvre’s family has said it wasn’t an abusive relationship, although the couple had marital problems.
Ottawa police Insp. John Maxwell went so far as to call it a “textbook example” of how the force’s procedures on suspected spousal assault were supposed to work.
“As sad as this is, as tragic as it is, we didn’t see any flags there,” Maxwell told the Citizen in April 2012.
Maxwell said it was the first time police had been called to the house, and the risk of escalating abuse was deemed low. The complaint was investigated by an experienced officer and wasn’t brushed off, Maxwell said.
As a result of their mother’s murder and their father’s suicide, the couple’s two boys “have suffered a traumatic loss of emotional and financial support as well as the services, care, guidance and companionship” of their parents, said the statement of claim.
aseymour@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/andrew_seymour
查看原文...
The family of Theresa Lefebvre is suing the Queensway Carleton Hospital and the Ottawa police, alleging the two should have known Peter Lefebvre posed a threat to himself and others. The family also alleges that neither the police nor hospital warned Theresa Lefebvre or her family of the potential danger she was in.
According to the family’s lawsuit, Ottawa police did little to nothing after Theresa Lefebvre called to report her husband had assaulted her on March 9, 2012.
A little more than a month later, Peter Lefebvre viciously beat Theresa with a baseball bat in their Hartsmere Drive home. The volunteer hockey coach called police after the assault on Theresa and told them he had killed his wife, then drove to the nearby Stoney Swamp Conservation Area and hanged himself from a tree. A critically injured Theresa Lefebvre, who was beaten so badly she was barely recognizable to her family, spent a week in a coma in hospital before she died on April 18, 2012 from her massive injuries.
The couple, who had two sons, 13 and 15, had been going through a separation but were continuing to live in the same house.
The lawsuit also alleges that staff at the Queensway Carleton Hospital failed to recognize that Peter Lefebvre was volatile and a danger when they released him from hospital a week before he attacked Theresa Lefebvre. Peter Lefebvre had gone to the hospital suffering from severe depression, but was discharged days later. The family alleges Ottawa police should have followed up with the hospital to determine the risk to Theresa Lefebvre and were negligent in not warning her or her family of the heightened risk of violence.
The hospital also should have informed itself about Peter Lefebvre’s alleged history of violence toward his wife, a well-liked assistant manager at the Barrhaven Farm Boy grocery store who was described as a wonderful mother by her friends, according to the statement of claim.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of the couple’s two sons and their legal guardians, Theresa Lefebvre’s sister and brother-in-law, is seeking $1 million in damages for negligence, negligent investigation and breach of fiduciary duty.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
In a statement of defence filed last week, the Queensway Carleton Hospital said the care provided to Peter Lefebvre met acceptable hospital and nursing standards.
According to the statement, Peter Lefebvre attended the hospital’s emergency room on March 25, 2012 seeking help. Peter Lefebvre told them he had been clinically depressed for three years and had “initiated a suicide plan but then had changed his mind.”
The hospital alleges that Peter Lefebvre immediately came under the care of a number of doctors at the hospital. He was admitted and treated for a major depressive disorder, but was discharged on April 4, 2012 by his own doctor at Peter Lefebvre’s request. The family is also suing the unnamed doctor, who is identified only as “John Doe #3″ in the civil filing.
According to the statement of defence, Peter Lefebvre’s care was provided under the direction of his own doctors who had privileges at the hospital and they are not in law responsible for their conduct. They deny all of the family’s allegations and ask that the lawsuit against them be dismissed.
The family further alleges in the lawsuit that Ottawa police were negligent by failing to properly investigate the March 9 assault.
Theresa Lefebvre’s mother had previously told the Citizen that her daughter was bruised all over after she was thrown into a towel rack.
“The investigating officers failed to adequately, or at all, investigate the matter and failed to lay criminal charges, despite the fact that it was reasonably foreseeable that harm including death could occur,” read the family’s statement of claim.
Ottawa police have yet to file a statement of defence in the civil case, but told the Citizen in April 2012 that neither party wanted to leave the house on March 9 for safe refuge. At the time, police said they remain satisfied that they made the right decision to not lay criminal charges following the March incident. Peter Lefebvre’s family has said it wasn’t an abusive relationship, although the couple had marital problems.
Ottawa police Insp. John Maxwell went so far as to call it a “textbook example” of how the force’s procedures on suspected spousal assault were supposed to work.
“As sad as this is, as tragic as it is, we didn’t see any flags there,” Maxwell told the Citizen in April 2012.
Maxwell said it was the first time police had been called to the house, and the risk of escalating abuse was deemed low. The complaint was investigated by an experienced officer and wasn’t brushed off, Maxwell said.
As a result of their mother’s murder and their father’s suicide, the couple’s two boys “have suffered a traumatic loss of emotional and financial support as well as the services, care, guidance and companionship” of their parents, said the statement of claim.
aseymour@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/andrew_seymour
查看原文...
