A BC Children’s Hospital nurse, the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) and three unnamed people are named as defendants in a lawsuit from a man who alleges he was the subject of sexual grooming and sexual abuse as a teen.
“The abuse is reprehensible and morally repugnant to the plaintiff and to the community at large such that punitive damages are warranted,” a Nov. 20 B.C. Supreme Court notice of civil claim said.
The claim said the plaintiff, identified only as A.C.M. of Vancouver, suffered from depressive symptoms and began abusing substances including alcohol and marijuana in the wake of his mother’s and grandfather’s deaths in 1998 when he was 11 years old.
In April 2004, he was admitted first to UBC Hospital and then to BC Children’s Hospital for treatment of his concurrent depressive and anxiety symptoms and substance abuse with suicidal ideation. He was discharged on May 31, 2004, according to the court documents.
He was re-admitted to BC Children’s that September, where he remained until the end of October.
The claim said Sherri Louise Hedberg was a nurse at BC Children’s and part of A.C.M.’s care team.
It said A.C.M. was in a “position of utmost vulnerability particularly considering his previous sexual inexperience and his mental health conditions.” The claim asserted Hedberg “exploited her position as his treating nurse to access his private information and by which time she had already bonded with him and groomed him for sexual abuse.”
In addition to sending him notes, picking him up from school, and taking him for dinner, the claim filed by lawyer Sandra Kovacs alleged Hedberg had sex with A.C.M. It occurred twice in a car and once while she wore a sexy nurse’s outfit, the claim said. They also allegedly had intercourse at his home before his father arrived and once at her home.
The claim said that, on July 27, 2023, an inquiry committee panel of the College of Nurses and Midwives approved an agreement with Hedberg suspending her ability to practice after an allegation she had an intimate relationship with a vulnerable client.
The claim alleges the health authority had a duty to protect A.C.M. and was negligent.
The lawsuit claims Hedberg exploited A.C.M.’s confidence and trust for her own sexual benefit and caused harm to him by that exploitation of confidence and trust.
It claims multiple forms of damages against the defendants.
None of the claims have been proven in court.
Responses to claim
While Hedberg could not be located from comment, the provincial health ministry provided a statement on behalf of itself and the PHSA.
The statement said the agencies cannot comment on a matter before the courts.
“The Ministry of Health takes matters of professional misconduct very seriously,” it said. “The Ministry of Health along with the Provincial Health Services Authority are committed to providing patients with the highest quality of care. We expect all employees to hold themselves to the highest standards of professional conduct and are committed to upholding the values of respect and compassion for our patients.”
Further, it said, the Health Professions Act and the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA) both include mechanisms to take action against people who commit very serious harmful actions.
The ministry said the HPOA will create a superintendent’s office to oversee the health professions’ regulatory colleges, “which will ensure colleges are laser-focused on patient safety and the public interest.”
And, the ministry said, the HPOA will create a better complaints system that encourages people who have been hurt or wronged by a health professional to come forward by:
• offering identity protection measures;
• providing access to support workers and access to support services such as counselling, for people who have experienced sexual abuse, sexual misconduct or discrimination while receiving health care from a regulated health-care provider; and,
• disciplinary actions taken against health professionals will be published on a public, online record to ensure members of the public can make informed decisions when selecting health-care providers.
