By Canadian Press

Family files $2.7-million lawsuit over Indigenous woman’s death in Quebec hospital

Sep 29, 2022 | 9:19 AM

MONTREAL — The family of an Indigenous woman who was mocked by staff as she lay dying in a Quebec hospital in September 2020 has filed a lawsuit seeking nearly $2.7 million.

Joyce Echaquan, a 37-year-old Atikamekw mother of seven, filmed herself on Facebook Live as a nurse and an orderly were heard making derogatory comments toward her at a hospital in Joliette, Que., northeast of Montreal.

The video of her treatment in September 2020 went viral and drew outrage and condemnation across the province and the country.

The lawsuit filed today in Joliette names the hospital, a doctor who treated her and the ex-nurse who was caught on film insulting Echaquan and seeks a total of $2.675 million in compensatory and punitive damages.

The family and the community of Manawan marked the second anniversary of her death on Wednesday.

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Lawyer Patrick Martin-Ménard says the civil suit is about moving forward and getting compensation for the family for the loss of Echaquan.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2022.

The Canadian Press