February 28, 2018 - 2:21 PM
OTTAWA - A woman who gave birth to a son in a segregation cell at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre more than five years ago has settled a lawsuit against the province, the jail and a number of staff members.
Julie Bilotta says she was eight months pregnant in September 2012 when she went into labour in the jail, where she was being held on fraud charges.
She says her screams were ignored by guards and medical staff did not recognize that she was in labour.
She gave birth to a son, Gionni, but it was a complicated delivery and the child died a year later from respiratory problems — a condition his mother blamed on the circumstances of his birth.
In 2014, Bilotta filed a civil action that her lawyer, Lawrence Greenspon, now says has been settled, although the terms are confidential.
The original lawsuit was seeking $1.3 million in damages for failing to provide adequate medical care.
The birth sparked an internal review at the jail and resulted in a nurse being disciplined by her professional college.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2018