Family of woman found dead on floor at Lakeshore General ER suing hospital, medical staff for $1 million

The family of an 86-year-old Filipino grandmother found dead on the floor at the Lakeshore General Hospital in 2021 is suing the regional health authority on Montreal’s West Island for $1 million.

Candida Macarine was found dead in a room at the ER on Feb. 27, 2021, one day after being admitted to the hospital due to respiratory distress.

Two of Macarine’s children spoke out about the lawsuit at a press conference on Thursday at the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR).

“Institutional accountability, why did the hospital hide from our family that she was found dead? Ice cold dead on the floor,” said said Emmanuel Macarine, son of Candida.

Hospital staff had told the family she died of cardiac arrest, but allegedly failed to mention she was found on the floor of an isolation room that had been deemed problematic. The family learned of the circumstances of her death through a news report.

“One week later, shattered by this terrible news and when I went to see that room in that emergency, the first thing that came to my mind is my mom. And until now, I still see that every day,” Emmanuel said. 

The lawsuit alleges that staff “purposely and voluntarily concealed critical information to the family.”

“I want to shout, I want to scream because I can’t accept it because I’m working in the health field and care for our residents, and there’s the news my mom was neglected and found dead on the floor because nobody’s taking care of her,” said

“We have to go through this ordeal for over three years now and hopefully this will put an end and finally receive justice,” said Emmanuel.

The CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, overseeing the Lakeshore General Hospital, had issued an apology to the family a month after Macarine’s death, saying it had “incomplete communications” with the family.

An ER doctor and the nurses at the hospital who were in charge of the ER the night she was admitted are also named in the lawsuit as defendants.

The allegations of the lawsuit focus on the flaws the family says were present in Macarine’s care, including the failure to check on her every 15 minutes, the failure to adequately address two critical test results they say should have been red flags to send her to the ICU, and the failure of nurses to notice or react to audio and visual alarms that should have alerted them to Macarine’s declining condition.

The family also alleges there were contradictory notes from staff as to the exact time a code blue was launched and when Macarine was found dead, raising questions about whether staff were slow to start CPR.

The lawsuit is seeking a total of $1 million from the CIUSSS: $100,000 for each of Macarine’s eight surviving children and $100,000 for each of the families of two of her deceased children.

“It’s not about just the money, but it’s about ultimately getting the answers, holding people accountable and ensuring that this kind of situation will not happen again with the proper remedies, proper prevention measures, proper services being provided throughout the whole situation of anyone coming into ER,” said Fo Niemi, the Executive Director of CRARR.

The CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal tells CityNews in a statement: “The staff of the CIUSSS de l’Ouest de l’île de Montréal understand that these times are difficult for loved ones. We are available and attentive to loved ones when situations like this occur. The family was met by the members of the management of our establishment.”

The statement says since the case is now before the courts, they won’t comment on it specifically. The CIUSSS does, however, say that they have made adjustments to improve the quality of care and services like holding monthly meetings of experts including the medical team that analyzes adverse events to improve practices.

Four emergency nursing advisors were also integrated supervise and support new nurses, offer training, and strengthen nursing practice. They also say that staff members have been designated to regularly monitor users at risk of falling. “They carry out rounds every fifteen minutes, which makes it possible to monitor areas far from the emergency to guarantee the safety and comfort of patients.”

As of mid-May, the current ER at the Lakeshore will be transferred to a new, temporary modular building, “guaranteeing a modern and secure environment,” the statement says.

In the more than three years since her death, Macarine’s children have been searching for answers and solace, pushing for a coroner’s investigation.

“For three years, the family struggled to get the facts straight about Ms. Macarine’s conditions in her final hours at the hospital,” says a press release from CRARR. “They encountered roadblocks from the hospital and problems with the coroner’s inquiry that sidestepped key issues. Many questions were left unanswered, including the identity of the nurses on duty at the ER on the night Ms. Macarine died.”

A September 2022 coroner’s report said Macarine likely died naturally of a heart attack. It stopped short of alleging neglect by staff.

Two months later, the Quebec coroner’s office rejected a request by Macarine’s family to reopen the investigation. The family claimed the coroner failed to correctly look at all the medical information at her disposal.

While the Macarines were initially pleased to see the Quebec government launch an independent investigation into the emergency room, in June 2023, they said they were still angry at the lack of answers.

For the Macarine family today, it’s about finding the truth and fighting for as long as needed.

“It’s been haunting me because I have no answer for it,” Emmanuel said. “Sunday, Mother’s Day. Again, I’m going to go there to visit her grave. Nothing, nothing that I could tell her. But we’re getting closer to finding out.”