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Friday, November 23, 2001 2 nurses in courtNegligence trial in girl's death
The two nurses who treated 10-year-old Lisa Shore the night she died in hospital were surrounded by colleagues, friends and supporters as they faced criminal negligence charges for the first time in court yesterday. Supporters of nurses Ruth Doerksen, 41, and Anagaile Soriano, 25, filled the College Park courtroom while out in the hallway waited a "gaggle of nurses and friends." "It's very unfortunate. As nurses say, it could be anyone of us appearing at that time," said Dr. Janet Rush, chief nursing officer at the Hospital For Sick Children. "It's a very sad situation for the nursing staff. I have seen a huge groundswell of support for the nurses. Humans and machines are not perfect." The charges of criminal negligence stem from Shore's death on Oct. 22, 1998, when the girl was admitted to Sick Kids for complications from a broken leg, which she had suffered six months earlier. She died about six hours later of respiratory and heart failure. Last year, a coroner's jury returned a verdict of homicide. The Shore family launched a civil suit, which was resolved in 1999. Both Doerksen and Soriano are on paid leave of absence until the criminal proceedings end, Rush said. "The nurses were shocked and saddened that the turn of events had gone to this level," she said. "The nurses felt they should have been heard by their professional body, the College of Nurses." Doerksen and Soriano will be back in court Jan. 10. "We're ready to start this long process and we're going to fight it all the way," defence lawyer Marlys Edwardh said. "Everyone is distressed." 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. |