Inquest jury cuts to the truth

By HEATHER BIRD -- Toronto Sun
On a day-to-day basis, there is little by way of real drama in the dimly lit coroner's courtrooms on Grosvenor St.

 It's not that the life-and-death issues pondered there aren't monumental -- they are. It's just that they are usually so fully explored over the course of an inquest that you can often predict what the jury will say.

 That, however, was not the case yesterday when they returned with their verdict in the sudden hospital death of 10-year-old Lisa Shore.

 As with every inquest, the five-member jury was asked to answer five basic questions. The name of deceased; date and time of death; place of death, cause of death and, finally, by what means that death had taken place.

 In this case, when Dr. Jim Cairns answered that final question with the single word "homicide," it had all the impact of an electric shock. There was an audible gasp from the front row where Lisa's parents were sitting, followed by the sounds of muffled sobs.

 They were cries, her mother explained later, of relief.

 "I think we were elated," she said. "We were hoping this would happen. What this did was vindicate us."

 Homicide in the context of a coroner's inquest does not have the same meaning as in the criminal sense. For all intents and purposes, it does not carry blame. It simply means that Lisa Shore died as a result of the actions of another person or persons.

 But the word was used deliberately in this case. The jury was clearly outraged by the evidence they heard and wanted to make their point. And they did so over the urgings of Crown counsel who argued that a finding of "accidental" or "undetermined" would have been appropriate.

 By late in the afternoon, the jury's findings had been passed along to the Toronto Police homicide squad to determine what action, if any, should be taken now.

 They will look long and hard at whether or not she was properly monitored or if she received adequate care.

 It is already clear, however, that the hospital failed them in not one, but two areas. First, it was human error or outright dereliction of duty which may have caused the little girl to die. The second came when officials withheld information from her family, which seemed wilful to the point of cruel.

 In the weeks and months which followed the loss of their daughter, Bill and Sharon searched for answers but were turned away time and again.

 "The hospital never provided a truthful analysis of what happened. ... This would have been relatively easy to do," said their lawyer, Frank Gomberg. "What made it so difficult was their desire to confuse, mislead, and distort the truth. That is what ultimately generated the need for a lengthy, controversial and adversarial inquest which was really an investigation masquerading as an inquest."

 Not only did some medical officials refuse to release the details -- they went out of their way to hide the facts. Some documents didn't surface until months and months later, even though the Shores were clamouring to know what had caused their vibrant, healthy little girl to suddenly die.

 Gomberg went on to say that this was a historic moment because the word "homicide" has never before been linked with the Hospital for Sick Children.

 Which is not strictly true because Justice Samuel Grange once determined that eight babies -- and maybe more -- had been murdered at the hands of the caregivers in that very hospital. Like the Shores, those parents fought for many months before they finally were given the information, the tools, that they needed to heal.

 That's why the words of Dr. Alan Goldbloom seemed so thin yesterday. "We offer them (the Shores) our deepest sympathies," he said on behalf of the hospital. "And we apologize for the mistakes that have been made. We're terribly sorry." He was undoubtedly sincere but it didn't ring true. It was too little and offered too late.

 The reputation of this world-class facility has suffered because of this case and rightfully so. Their work was shoddy and their attempts to cover up were shameful. It will take time to restore its reputation in the minds of parents throughout the GTA.

 Sharon Shore says the truth is now out there. "The Hospital for Sick Children was wholly responsible for our daughter's death." The vindication is nice, she says, but it doesn't change the fact that Lisa never came home.

 "She was," says Sharon, "just a very special little girl. She would have grown up to really make a difference."

 No doubt. How much we'll never know. Study interaction of 2 drugs: Jury