A man is filing a class action lawsuit against the Jewish General Hospital for alleged sexual abuse he suffered in the early 1980s. Other potential victims are invited to join the proceedings.
The class action application against the CIUSSS du Centre-Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, which includes the Jewish General Hospital, was filed last Thursday with the Superior Court of Quebec. The alleged victim is identified by the initials CK
CK was a 6-year-old child at the time of the incident. After his admission to the child psychiatry department, he allegedly suffered sexual abuse on numerous occasions while he was hospitalized there for almost two years.
The assaults were allegedly committed by two former social workers employed by the hospital, Gino Londei and Steve Trowbridge. CK was allegedly assaulted by the two individuals in a “withdrawal room” where he was isolated 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 claim thus invokes the hospital’s “principal liability”, that is to say its liability towards the employees it employs.
If it is proven that the establishment knew or should have known that such assaults were being committed, the hospital’s personal liability 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 monetary damages and punitive damages, the amount of which will be determined for each victim.
An appeal to other potential victims
Although there is currently no evidence to know whether the two men would have caused other victims, the procedure filed explains that they both worked for several years in the child psychiatry department. Their functions would have given 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 site1 from the law firm Trudel Johnston & Lspérance.
“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 Hare. I am convinced that there will be several members of 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.”
1. Visit the law firm’s website