A Sault Ste. Marie man who says he spent months in hospital after a prison beating is suing fellow inmates allegedly involved in the assault, along with guards, the correctional facility and the provincial ministry that oversees it.
Patrick James Chenier is a 43-year-old Sault Ste. Marie man who, prior to being incarcerated, was employed as a pipefitter and general labourer.
In a lawsuit filed earlier this year in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Sault Ste. Marie, Chenier claims he was assaulted on Jan. 27, 2021 by three other inmates of the Monteith Correctional Complex, a minimum to medium security facility in Monteith, Ont., 65 km east of Timmins.
None of the allegations contained in the lawsuit have been proven in court and a statement of defence has not yet been filed by any of the defendants, which include: three inmates, three guards, the facility, its superintendent, and the Ministry of the Solicitor General.
The inmates and guards are not not yet named in the suit. The total amount being sought by Chenier in the action is $3,375,000, with no date yet set for trial.
Chenier is being represented in the suit by Anthony Potestio of Sault Ste. Marie-based Potestio Law. SooToday reached out to Potestio for comment for this story but did not receive a response before the publication.
In the statement of claim, Chenier alleges he and the three unnamed inmates were in a common supervised custody area of the complex when the inmates "attacked and violently assaulted the plaintiff."
The suit claims the facility was understaffed at the time of the alleged assault and staff "failed to implement safeguards afforded to inmates in protective custody."
It further alleges that staff "failed to identify the potential circumstances leading up to the assault despite having warning signs that the assault could arise."
In the statement, Chenier alleges he was transported by van to Anson General Hospital on Jan. 28, 2021, eight hours after he says he was assaulted. He remained there until discharged on Feb. 8 of the same year.
While being assessed at the hospital, Chenier says doctors noted a boot imprint on his scalp, a tennis ball-sized hematoma on his head, and his left eye was swollen shut, among other injuries.
Immediately upon discharge, Chenier was transferred to the rehabilitation unit at Timmins District Hospital, where he remained until April 19, 2021.
Injuries alleged in the lawsuit include a severe traumatic brain injury, left preorbital soft tissue swelling, right occipital parietal scalp hematoma, multiple complex fracture of the orbital bones and left sphenoid sinus fracture, acute epidural hematoma adjacent to the left middle cranial fossa, epidural bleed, as well as a 1.5 inch long and 1 cm deep lateral to left eye.
“The foregoing injuries have been accompanied by great pain and suffering and profound physical and emotional shock,” reads the statement of claim. “The plaintiff’s enjoyment of life has been irretrievably lessened and he remains permanently impaired."
Chenier is asking that the lawsuit be heard in a Sault Ste. Marie courtroom.