Indigenous woman’s daughter sues WRHA, Grace Hospital and staff, claims racial bias contributed to death

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This article was published 19/04/2024 (506 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 68-year-old Indigenous woman with a history of respiratory conditions died in Grace Hospital after receiving negligent medical care at least partially due to her race, her daughter claims in a lawsuit.

Jean Kemash, who had been experiencing shortness of breath and chills over several days, died after she went to the hospital’s emergency department on April 15, 2022.

Winnipeg lawyer Phillip Cramer filed a lawsuit on behalf of Kemash’s daughter, Kelly Jean Medwick, in Court of King’s Bench Monday, naming the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, Grace Hospital, two doctors and two nurses as defendants.

None of the defendants have filed statements of defence in response. A spokesperson for the WRHA, which oversees the hospital, said the authority would not comment on a matter before the courts.

“The unconscious bias of personnel against Kemash due to her Indigenous status was part of the chain of negligent acts and misconduct of the defendants that led to the death,” claims the court filing.

“Kemash died as a result of the negligence and misconduct of the defendants.”

Kemash was admitted to the hospital on April 15 by a doctor named in the suit.

The same doctor assessed Kemash again three days later, and within two hours her condition became destabilized — she was confused and disoriented with low blood pressure and a lack of oxygen — and she was moved to the emergency resuscitation room, the court papers say.

Another doctor ordered blood work and a chest X-ray. In a phone conversation between the two physicians, the admitting doctor said he would re-examine her but failed to do so, according to the claim, which noted that Kemash needed more oxygen as the day went on.

That evening, another daughter called one of the nurses named in the suit, worried about Kemash’s transfer to a medical ward, but the “concerns were ignored,” the claim alleges.

Kemash was moved to the in-patient ward at about 10 p.m., where she remained under the direct care of the admitting doctor, but also that of a psychiatry resident who was the on-site physician that night, as he completed his four-week internal medicine residency, the papers say.

The plaintiff alleges the resident failed to consult with the admitting doctor or a senior resident and wasn’t competent to care for Kemash, and by failing to reassess her, the admitting doctor and the other defendants caused her death.

Another nurse named in the lawsuit failed to follow procedure after Kemash was connected to a respiratory monitoring device; the machine’s monitor was left at the end of a hallway, where its sounds could not be heard, the plaintiff alleges. The nurse negligently failed to check on her hourly, as dictated by protocol, or give her medications as scheduled, says the lawsuit.

That nurse applied restraints to Kemash’s wrists after 3 a.m., “in a manner inconsistent with the WRHA and the hospital policy,” for reasons that are unclear and, at about 5:20 a.m., Kemash became agitated and her shortness of breath worsened before she went unresponsive, the claim says.

Staff called a “code blue” and performed efforts to resuscitate her for about 25 minutes, before Kemash was pronounced dead at 5:50 a.m.

The WRHA’s Indigenous services department took part in the critical incident examination process after her death.

The department “made reference to the potential of unconscious bias by staff against Indigenous patients which resulted in hospital staff receiving training to be aware of and to avoid unconscious bias,” says the court filing.

The daughter’s lawsuit is seeking general, special, exemplary and punitive damages to be determined by the court, as well as court costs and damages under the Fatal Accidents Act. No dollar figure is cited in the filing.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca