A victim of sexual abuse files a class action against the Jewish General Hospital for sexual abuse suffered in the early 1980s. Other potential victims are invited to join the proceedings.
What there is to know
- A former patient of the Jewish General Hospital’s child psychiatry unit is filing a class action lawsuit against the facility where he was hospitalized in the early 1980s. He was allegedly the victim of sexual abuse by two hospital social workers, Gino Londei and Steve Trowbridge.
- The alleged attackers may have died since the alleged events. They may also have had other victims. The latter are invited to join the class action.
- The victim identified by the initials CK is seeking $250,000 in non-pecuniary damages, as well as pecuniary damages and punitive damages, the amount of which remains to be determined for each victim.
The request for class action against the CIUSSS West-Central Montreal, which oversees the Jewish General Hospital, was filed last Thursday with the Superior Court of Quebec. The alleged victim is identified by the initials CK
C. K. was a six-year-old child at the time of the events. After his admission to the Department of Child Psychiatry, he allegedly suffered repeated sexual abuse while he was hospitalized there for nearly two years.
The assaults were allegedly committed by two former social workers employed by the hospital, Gino Londei and Steve Trowbridge. CK was allegedly abused by these two individuals in a “withdrawal room” where he was isolated by Londei and Trowbridge as punishment. Trowbridge also allegedly demanded that he fondle his genitals in exchange for toys.
According to CK’s lawyer, Me Jessica Lelièvre, it is possible that the two employees have died since the alleged events.
The class action thus invokes the hospital’s “knowledgeable liability”, that is to say its liability towards the employees it employs.
If it is proven that the institution was aware or should have known that such attacks were being committed, the personal liability of the hospital could also be invoked.
According to CK, the sexual abuse he allegedly suffered left him with “profound consequences” such as symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and alcoholism.
He is therefore seeking non-pecuniary damages of $250,000. He is also seeking pecuniary damages and punitive damages, the amount of which will remain to be determined for each victim.
A call to other potential victims
Although there is no evidence at this time to show whether the two men may have caused other victims, the lawsuit states that they both worked for several years in the child psychiatry department. Their positions thus gave them “authority and significant power over several cohorts of very vulnerable children.”
In his application, CK claims to have seen the two individuals bring other children into the “withdrawal room” on several occasions.
This is why Me Lelièvre invites anyone who may have been a victim of Gino Londei and Steve Trowbridge to write to him or fill out the form on the site 1 from the law firm Trudel Johnston & Lespérance.
“We are here for them and to hear them, these are not easy situations and it takes a lot of courage for people to move forward,” explains M.e Lelièvre: I am convinced that there will be several members in our collective action.
For its part, the CIUSSS West-Central Montreal explains that it does not want to “comment on a matter that is currently before the courts.”
Visit the law firm’s website