The plaintiffs brought a negligence action arising from a brutal assault on a vulnerable inmate in a provincial detention centre protective custody unit.
The court held that correctional staff fell below the standard of care by permitting three aggressive inmates with a known history of assaults and acting in concert to remain housed together, and by failing to make compatibility inquiries before placing the plaintiff in the unit.
Applying a but-for causation analysis, the court found the assault would not have occurred absent those failures.
The plaintiff was found contributorily negligent for not alerting staff upon seeing an inmate with whom he had prior conflict, and fault was apportioned at 15 percent against the plaintiff.
Liability was found against the Ministry, with damages already agreed and remaining issues deferred.
