Family of Stephanie Warriner files $16M lawsuit against hospital, guards over alleged 'reckless' force

The family of Stephanie Warriner, who died after being restrained chest down by security guards at a Toronto hospital in May 2020, has filed a $16-million lawsuit against the hospital network and the guards involved, alleging her death was the direct result of the guards' actions that day, calling their actions "reckless" and the force used "excessive."

The suit, filed at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, names the two guards previously charged in Warriner's death, Amanda Rojas-Silva and Shane Hutley along with University Health Network.

Also named are the guards' shift supervisor, the guard who handcuffed Warriner, 43, while she was held on the ground and a guard who filmed the incident but later admitted he intentionally moved the security camera away, claiming he panicked.

It also alleges the hospital failed to notify the family for 11 days after the incident, leaving them in the dark about what had happened until days before Warriner's death. 

News of the lawsuit came days after CBC News reported that charges against the two guards set to face trial in Warriner's death were abruptly dropped after a judge decided in November there was not enough evidence in the case.

It also comes after CBC News obtained judicial authorization to publish video of the incident, during which a camera was purposely turned away, not capturing the final moments before Warriner was wheeled away unconscious. 

The lawsuit alleges the defendants are responsible for a range of breaches, among them: assault and battery, negligence and conspiracy, intentional infliction of emotional distress and breach of the Ontario Human Rights Code by allegedly discriminating against Warriner for her mental health condition and history of addiction.

"Stephanie's death has had a profound impact on her family," says the lawsuit, in particular on her sister, Denise, and children. 

One of those children, Daisy Warriner who had been recovering from drug use, was sent on a "downward spiral" after her mother's death, the lawsuit says, turning to drugs to ease her pain. She ultimately died of an overdose a year-and-a-half after her mother's death at age 24, the suit says. 

In a statement to CBC News, University Health Network spokesperson Gillian Howard said the organization "does not comment on matters before the court." CBC News has contacted lawyers for Rojas-Silva and Hutley for comment. This story will be updated when a response is received.

While the suit was officially filed in September 2022, the lawyer for Warriner's sister, Denise, says the defendants were only recently served. None have yet filed statements of defence, but all have submitted notices of their intent to fight it, said Asha James of Falconers LLP. 

The allegations contained in the family's lawsuit have not been tested in court.

A mother of five, Warriner was five feet, five inches and 120 pounds, "tiny but mighty" and "loved hard," according to her sister. She also struggled with bipolar disorder, substance abuse and in the months leading up to her death, found herself living in a shelter after a break up. 

On May 10, Warriner, who suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD, arrived at Toronto General Hospital with a cough and short of breath. It was early in the COVID-19 pandemic, and Warriner was presumptively treated as COVID-positive, though it was later found she tested negative for the virus.