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Thursday, October 25, 2001 2 nurses 'shocked' charges looming in death
Two nurses who treated Lisa Shore the night the 10-year-old died at the Hospital for Sick Children face criminal negligence charges, their lawyer confirmed yesterday. "It's outrageous these criminal charges are being laid at this time," said Elizabeth McIntyre, acting for Ruth Doerksen and Anagaile Soriano. "We've been advised by the police charges are likely to be laid in the next couple of days." Shore died from respiratory and heart failure Oct. 22, 1998, while being treated for complications from a broken leg. The hospital settled a civil suit with the family in 1999 and offered them an apology during a lengthy inquest last year. McIntyre called the looming charges "ridiculous" and said they could pre-empt disciplinary hearings into the case set for Dec. 4 at the College of Nurses of Ontario. 'UNPRECEDENTED' "It's virtually unprecedented that criminal charges are being laid against health care professionals in those circumstances," she said. "Any cases where they have been laid, they've been unsuccessful." Criminal negligence causing death carries a top penalty of life in prison. "The nurses at this point are shocked. They're devastated," she said. "Can you imagine facing life imprisonment because they're shift nurses? ... They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time." Police declined comment on whether charges are pending, but a Sick Kids spokesman said it is also expecting them any day. Frank Gomberg, lawyer for the Shore family, said his clients want only to discover the truth of what happened to their daughter. This site is updated by 5:30 a.m. ET each day and includes stories and columns from the day's print edition of the Sun. Use these links to find the Sun stories you are looking for. For updated news, sports, business and entertainment updates around the clock, we invite you to use the links from our CANOE network. |