Doctors ‘wrongly and excessively’ prescribed boy drugs before he died in Ont. couple's care, lawsuit claims

< warm>WARNING: This story inside information allegations of baby blackguard.

NOTE: This is the second in a two-part series on the civil lawsuit filed by the biological family of the two boys. You can read the first story here.

A 12-year-old boy who died while in the care of two Ontario women was “wrongly and excessively” prescribed medications by several doctors who didn’t assess him in person, according to a lawsuit filed by his biological family. 

His younger brother experienced the same overprescribing while living with Becky Hamber and Brandy Cooney in Burlington, the statement of claim alleges. 

“The doctors clearly breached their professional duties,” it says. €œTheir negligent actions, particularly in their prescribing practices, directly contributed to the harm suffered by the children and ultimately to [the boy’s] death.” 

The lawsuit, which alleges negligence and seeks over $4 million in damages, is separate from the Milton Superior Court criminal trial for Cooney and Hamber, who’ve pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder of the older boy, and charges of confinement, assault with a weapon and failing to provide the necessaries of life to his brother.

The Indigenous boys' identities are protected under a publication ban. For our coverage, we're referring to the older boy as L.L., who died on Dec. 21, 2022, and his brother as J.L. We’re also withholding the family members’ names to protect the boys’ identities as required by the court. 

The civil lawsuit was filed in Ottawa Superior Court in December 2024 on behalf of J.L., the estate of L.L. And the boys’ birth mother. 

The defendants are Hamber and Cooney, the Halton and Ottawa Children’s Aid Societies (CAS), psychiatrists Dr. Shelinderjit Dhaliwal and Dr. Paul Singleton, family physician Dr. Graeme Duncan, and “Jane Doe” and “John Doe” as placeholders if more need to be added.

Singleton and Duncan have notified the court they intend to defend themselves, as has Ottawa CAS. No statements of defence have yet been filed. 

None of the civil lawsuit’s allegations have been proven in court. 

Singleton was J.L.’s psychiatrist and saw him consistently until he retired in 2021. 

Dhaliwal, who testified during the murder trial, took over his care but didn’t see him in person for over a year. L.L. Was also her patient, but saw him only once in person — in early 2022. 

The rest of the time, she spoke to Hamber or Cooney on the phone or virtually, she told Milton court. Occasionally, one of the boys would be on the call. 

Dhaliwal said that in the months leading up to L.L.’s death, she consistently urged the couple to take him to her clinic or the hospital to be assessed in person, but they refused. 

In the fall of 2022, she referred L.L. To an eating-disorders clinic after Hamber and Cooney claimed he was intentionally regurgitating his food, leading to weight loss. He was never formally diagnosed with an eating disorder. 

Duncan saw the boys, including L.L. eight days before he died, for annual checkups. The family doctor testified at the murder trial that he did not do a full physical assessment of the boy or ask about his eating, despite knowing he’d experienced significant weight loss and appeared extremely thin.

The lawsuit says none of the doctors notified CAS or police when they “observed or ought to have observed visible signs of child abuse” as required by regulatory bodies. 

The boys lived with Hamber and Cooney, who were trying to adopt them, for five years beginning in 2017.

Throughout that time, the women sought out various medications and therapies for the brothers, who the couple said had explosive tantrums, harmed themselves and others, and destroyed their home, the murder trial has been told.

The Crown has argued the couple’s claims about the boys' behaviour were overblown and they had unrealistic expectations of them. If the women’s demands were not met, the Crown alleges, they would confine and restrain them, force them to exercise and withhold food, among other measures. 

The medications the boys were “wrongly” prescribed by the doctors, according to the family’s statement of claim, included those used to treat depression, psychosis, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), mood disorders and insomnia. 

The latter, flurazepam, is a powerful sleep medication not meant to be prescribed to children, according to Health Canada. 

The statement of claim does not say which doctor prescribed which medication, when or why, or for which child.

The boys may have been prescribed more medications than the five listed in the statement of claim. The Crown reviewed 12 medications with Dhaliwal when she testified, although flurazepam was not among them. 

The murder trial has heard doctors prescribed new medications, or altered doses, at Cooney’s and Hamber’s request and without assessing the boys in person. 

After J.L. Was removed from their care, he was weaned off most of the medications, the court was told.  

The couple's criminal trial is ongoing, with the Crown and defence expected to make their closing arguments in March. Justice Clayton Conlan’s decision is expected later in the spring. 

What witnesses like Dhaliwal and Duncan said in the criminal proceedings under oath can be used in the civil case, said lawyer Brenda Hollingsworth, who represents the biological family in the lawsuit. Although not directly involved in the criminal case, Hollingsworth can also rely on exhibits and request the Crown’s files. 

The judge’s decision will “play a significant role” in the civil case, she said. 

Hollingsworth also said she’ll be waiting to see if Conlan makes comments in his decision about “the role of people (like the physicians) and institutions (like CAS) in this horrific tragedy." 

Ontario's former child advocate says children's aid societies made 'bad decisions' leading up to death of boy

If found guilty in the criminal case, Cooney and Hamber would likely be held liable civilly after those proceedings play out in court, said Hollingsworth.

If they’re found not guilty, the lawsuit could still go ahead as the burden of proof is different in civil court, with a verdict based on a balance of probability versus beyond a reasonable doubt, she said. 

After the criminal trial, the lawyers in the civil suit will enter the discovery phase, when they'll be able to question defendants and plaintiffs under oath. 

“If we are unable to resolve the case, there would be a second trial, this time a civil trial,” Hollingsworth said. 

If you’re affected by this report, you can look for mental health support through  resources in your province or territory . If you’re in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.

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