Samuel Brown Inquest: Day Four

Providing more medical information about students to W. Ross Macdonald School staff would be beneficial, a corner’s inquest was told Thursday.

“I’m not sure any of us really knew that Samuel was susceptible to pneumonia,” Sherry Eacrett said Thursday. “ So having as much medical information as possible, with all the regulations, would be helpful for everybody.”

The inquest is looking into the death of Samuel Brown, a student at the provincially-run demonstration school who died Feb. 9, 2018 of pneumonia. Samuel, an 18-year-old deafblind student, stayed at South View Lodge at the school during the week and returned to his Brampton home on weekends.

Jurors were told during earlier testimony that Samuel had difficulty swallowing and was prone to aspiration – the accident lodging of food and liquids in his lungs. Aspiration can lead to pneumonia.

Eacrett was the deafblind residence coordinator at the time of Samuel’s death. Her testimony on Thursday, followed that of two school nurses Shay Martin and Pat Gerrior as well as that of team lead Dianne Harris.

Both nurses had assessed Samuel earlier in the day while Harris was working the overnight shift on Feb. 8 to 9, 2018 along with two student support counselors – Tamara Cudek and Stephanie Rymon-Lipinski.

Testimony at the inquest has found that while support staff at the school knew Samuel had a history of congestion and a runny nose, they didn’t know he had a history of pneumonia.

“I suppose if we had more medical information about Samuel that would have been helpful, a little bit more of (his medical) history and what to watch for,” Harris said in response to questions from Maria Stevens, counsel for the inquest.

As the team lead, Harris was overseeing the care of students staying in students lodging at W. Ross Macdonald on the night of Feb. 8-9 2018. Harris was told by Martin that Samuel had been given Tylenol at 9 pm because he had a fever.

Following Martin’s direction, Harris, accompanied by two Cudek and Rymon-Lipinski, took Samuel’s temperature at 1 am on Feb. 9. At that time, Samuel’s temperature was within the normal range and he appeared comfortable.

Harris also answered questions from Saron Gebresellassi, a Toronto lawyer representing the Brown family.

“We all make mistakes Miss Harris. Would you agree with me that perhaps mistakes were made?” Gebresellassi asked.

“No, I won’t agree because I don’t know if this could have been avoided,” Harris said. “I don’t know if this would have been picked up that this was going to happen.”

Gebresellassi asked “ you would have done nothing differently, Miss Harris?”

Harris said “I don’t think there’s anything I could have done differently because I did everything in my power and everything that I thought was the right thing to do at the time based on how Samuel presented when I did my check.”

Jurors also heard Thursday that Samuel, who had been attending the school since he was four, had been sent to hospital from the school in February 2006, April 2007, December 2011 and January 2017.

We; those occasions, Samuel had symptoms described as being more severe than those he displayed on Feb. 8 and 9, 2018. The symptoms included, on the various occasions, fever, discoloration of his lips, bronchitis, coughing and shortness of breath.

During her testimony on Thursday, Eacrett spoke about arriving at the school after Samuel had been transported to the hospital.

“Dianne (Harris) was shaken up but was able to give me accurate information on what had happened,” Eacrett said. “I did go into the computer room where Stephanie and Tamara were and they were very upset, crying and very concerned about Samuel.

“It was difficult, it was a very difficult morning.”

Eacrett then had to call Samuel’s parents.

Stevens, counsel for the inquest recounted part of the conversation and how Eacrett told Samuel’s mother that Samuel had been taken to hospital.

“What was heard from Mrs. Brown is that she asked you using words to the effect that ‘are you telling me that my son isn’t with us anymore,’” Stevens said. “You didn’t answer that question in as many words.”

Eacrett wiped away tears and asked if she could take a break.

When the inquest resumed Eacrett explained that she didn’t have an answer for Samuel’s mother. And even if she did know that Samuel had passed, she wouldn’t have said so.

“As a parent myself, I would never want someone to tell me something like that over the phone,” Eacrett said.

The inquest continues Friday.

[email protected]

twitter.com/EXPVBall