Police charge nurse over hospital death of Ontario woman

Police have charged a nurse at an Ontario hospital with manslaughter after a 39-year-old patient was taken off life support without authorization, Midland Police Service say. It is likely the first time in North America criminal charges have been laid against a health-care professional for withdrawing life support.

Deanna Leblanc arrived at Georgian Bay General Hospital in Midland, Ont., by ambulance on March 2, 2014, after waking with sudden pain during the night after simple knee surgery two days earlier, said Mike Leblanc, her husband.

Hours later, in the emergency room, he was told the shocking news his wife had died.

“I didn’t really understand what could have happened,” he said Friday.

“I was just going by what I was told. You take them at their word, they’re the professionals.”

As Leblanc and the couple’s two sons, then aged 14 and 17, pressed ahead with her funeral, the hospital was reviewing the circumstances of her death; within days, the review prompted it to call police, said Jackie McLauchlin, a hospital spokeswoman.

A nurse, Joanna Flynn, 50, of Wyevale, Ont., ceased being an employee of the hospital about the same time. On Thursday, Midland police charged her with manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death.

“This is a complex investigation,” said Insp. Ron Wheeldon.

“To preserve the integrity of this investigation and the pending case before the court, no further information will be released. … There is no threat to public safety.”

The case is not only complex, but also unprecedented, said Mark Handelman, a Toronto health law lawyer who specializes in end-of-life litigation.

“This is the first time in Canada or the United States that criminal charges have been laid — that I know of — against a health-care provider for withdrawing life support from a patient,” he said.

“It is pretty clear the law in Canada requires consent to withdraw life support,” he said.

“It must seem to the investigating officers, and I assume a Crown attorney, that there is no ethical grey area in this one.”

Flynn appeared briefly in court Friday and was released on bail. She could not be reached for comment.

While it took 13 months to lay charges, police were working on the case within days of Deanna Leblanc’s death. Soon after her funeral, officers told her family her death was under investigation.

Leblanc is still bewildered how his wife so quickly went from having a sore knee to dying.

Leblanc said he hopes the court will reveal what happened to his wife in her final hours.

“I’d like it to get resolved and find out exactly what happened and why,” he said. “I’ll go to court next month and see what happens.”

“She was a great mother and a great wife and everybody loved her,” he said.