Negligence in medical care led to inmate's suicide at Edmonton jail, lawsuit alleges

A 23-year-old man took his own life last year inside his cell at the Edmonton Remand Centre after repeatedly asking for medical help to manage his pain, mental illness and addictions.

Now, Timothy James McConnell's own words are being used in a lawsuit launched by his mother against the province and Alberta Health Services.

A statement of claim, filed Friday in the Court of King's Bench, alleges a lack of care ultimately led to McConnell's death.

Health records shared with CBC and detailed in the statement of claim paint a troubling picture of his final weeks inside the remand centre.

Days before he died, McConnell had been put on a waiting list for Suboxone treatment, a medication used to treat symptoms of opioid withdrawal.

"I'm sorry to bug," the inmate wrote in a health services request form on Jan. 1, 2021.

"I know I'm on the waiting list but I've been here four months and soon I'll be back on the streets, surrounded by drugs and hopeless addicts.

"Please let me start my Suboxone treatment. I won't abuse this privilege."

Ten days later, McConnell, who went by TJ, was found unresponsive in his cell. An autopsy confirmed his death was a suicide.

McConnell's mother, Lana Greene, filed her lawsuit against the province and Alberta Health Services. She is seeking more than $235,000 in damages for herself and for McConnell's son, now four years old.

None of the allegations have been proven in court. As of Monday, no statements of defence had been filed with the court. 

'They can't undo my son's death'

Greene says her son's death highlights the need for improved access to mental health and medical supports in Alberta's correctional system, including the remand centre.

"They can't undo my son's death," she said. "And there certainly isn't any amount of money that's ever going to make up for it.

"But they could start doing a little better and maybe, maybe, there's hope for someone else."

According to court records, McConnell had been in the remand centre for four months, facing charges of theft over $5,000 and shopbreaking with intent.

He had been arrested by Edmonton police on Sept. 3, 2020. Greene said he was caught trying to steal paintball guns from a store.

The lawsuit alleges that McConnell endured "cruel conditions" at the remand centre that amounted to breaches of his charter rights.

It contends he was subjected to crowding, violence from other inmates, harassment from guards, excessive time in segregation, unhygienic conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic, and unreasonable limitations on his medical care from having nurses "gatekeep" his access to referrals and medications.  

"McConnell would never receive the treatment he needed and to which he had a right," the statement of claim says.

Greene said her son had ADHD, depression and bipolar disorder with manic episodes. He used drugs to self-medicate and in the final years of his life began committing petty crimes to feed his addiction, she said.

The statement of claim says staff at AHS and correctional staff should have known about McConnell's medical history, which included stays in a hospital psychiatric ward, non-residential Suboxone treatment, an eight-day stay in detox and failed attempts to enrol in a residential treatment program.

"TJ would not have died but for the negligence of Alberta and AHS," the statement of claim says.

"The defendants' negligence was persistent, systemic and rooted in prejudice against people accused of criminal conduct and against people who use drugs."

I'm having a lot of trouble refraining from using drugs in here, and I'm scared I'm gonna lose my life when I get outside.- TJ McConnell in a health request form

McConnell entered the remand centre the day after his arrest.

An admission chart noted that he had been using heroin and meth and that he should be monitored for signs of withdrawal.

On Oct. 13, 2020, he requested pain medication for a previous injury to his arm.

Nearly two weeks later he was prescribed acetaminophen. He didn't receive it until more than a month later, and then only sporadically, the statement of claim says.

He repeatedly asked for medication for ADHD, his bipolar disorder and depression.

Several requests to see doctor

 On Nov. 3, he wrote: "I need to meet with a psychiatrist so I can get back on my medication." He wrote that after seven previous requests, he still had not been seen.

In response, a health practitioner noted there was no record of McConnell being on mental health medication in the past 12 months. He was encouraged to follow up with his family doctor upon release.

On Nov. 14, McConnell submitted three health requests for medication problems. He wrote that he was struggling with anxiety, depression and pain, and having difficulty sleeping.

The same day, he asked for Suboxone treatment.

"I'm having a lot of trouble refraining from using drugs in here, and I'm scared I'm gonna lose my life when I get outside, back around even more pressure to use," he wrote.

"I've overdosed 16 times and I really want to leave this life behind."

A note on the form indicates that McConnell was seen by a member of the mental health team three days later and that a psychiatrist had been asked to review his file. 

On Nov. 17, the statement of claim says, a nurse saw McConnell and noted that he "endorses passive suicidal ideations with no plan to act on the same."

The nurse scheduled an appointment with a psychiatrist for Nov. 23. The psychiatrist who saw McConnell wrote that he had threatened to "go suicidal" if not prescribed the antidepressant Wellbutrin, the statement of claim says.

"It was negligent for the psychiatrist to dismiss TJ's mental health concerns as mere 'threats' and not to treat TJ's mental health concerns seriously," the statement of claim says.

On Dec. 7, a psychiatrist saw McConnell and noted that he was struggling with anxiety and depression and had again requested medication.

On Jan. 5, 2021, AHS staff wrote that McConnell's request for opioid dependency treatment had been received. He was told he was on a waiting list.

Found without pulse in cell

Around 7:40 p.m. on Jan. 11, 2021, officers found McConnell in his cell, according to an AHS medical emergency report. His pupils were fixed and dilated. He had no pulse.

A fatality inquiry, not yet scheduled, will examine the circumstances of McConnell's death but Greene said she doesn't want to wait years for answers.

She said Alberta's correctional system and the health-care system failed her son. She hopes the case will pressure the minister of justice and solicitor general to launch an inquiry.

"You have to answer for what you do and pay the price," she said of her son's alleged crimes.

"But to be sitting in a room and asking for supports and help, and to have just zero access to it, you would lose all hope."

"He'd hit a bottom and a place where he was admitting that he needed that help … they either just didn't take him seriously or they just didn't care."

Alberta Justice did not respond to a request for comment on the statement of claim but had previously declined comment on McConnell's case, citing privacy concerns.

Alberta Health Services said it had no comment on the statement of claim. In a previous statement to CBC News about McConnell's death, AHS said inmate health is a top priority and access to care and medication has been improved.

More nurses have been hired and support programs for opioid use disorder have been enhanced. There is no longer a waiting list for opioid dependency treatment at the remand centre, AHS said.

Lawyer Chris Wiebe, who is representing Greene, said McConnell's death demonstrates gaps in mental health and addiction supports provided to prisoners.

"The lack of access to adequate health care was one of the the systemic failures that TJ experienced at the Edmonton Remand Centre, which pushed him to the point of despair, and that had tragic consequences," Wiebe said.

"I think it's multiple intersecting crises that tragically led to TJ's death."

If you or someone you know is struggling, here's where to get help:

• Talk Suicide Canada: 1-833-456-4566 (phone) | 45645 (text between 4 p.m. and midnight ET).

• Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 (phone), live chat counselling on the website.

• Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention: Find a 24-hour crisis centre.

• This guide from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health outlines how to talk about suicide with someone you're worried about.