Pine Rivers Private Hospital sued for $750K over patient’s suicide

A top southeast Queensland mental health hospital and its medical director are being sued for $750,000 over claims a woman’s death was preventable.

A heartbroken widower is suing a Moreton Bay mental health hospital and one of its top doctors after his wife took her own life while being treated.

The $750,000 claim has been lodged in Brisbane District Court by Russell Malcolm Messenger, 54, against Healthscope Operations Pty Ltd trading as Pine Rivers Private Hospital and its medical director Dr Chinna Samy.

Dr Samy was the treating doctor for Mr Messenger’s wife, Katrina Joy Messenger.

Mrs Messenger died on August 24, 2018 while a patient at Pine Rivers.

Lawyers acting for Mr Messenger claimed her death was preventable and that the defendants breached their duty of care due to their own negligence.

According to the claim, Mrs Messenger had been “intermittently” in the care of Pine Rivers and Dr Samy since about March, 2016 due to diagnoses of mixed anxiety, depression, and borderline personality disorder.

Pine Rivers Private Hospital in 2007. Pic: Grant Parker

Mrs Messenger attempted suicide on May 2, 2018 and again on August 8, solicitor Amanda Edwards said the in the statement of claim.

Three days before the second attempt, she began a “dialectical behaviour therapy’’ program with Dr Samy under the auspices of Pine Rivers.

Mr Messenger claims that due to concerns Dr Samy developed during this program, his wife was admitted into the care of Pine Rivers on August 15.

But she was assessed by Dr Samy as “low risk”, meaning she could check herself out for things such as buying a coffee.

According to the claim, after Mrs Messenger was admitted to Pine Rivers, she “consistently reported deteriorating symptoms of severe distress, depression and hopelessness... (and she) demonstrated behaviour reflecting an increase in the severity of distress she was experiencing”.

Pine Rivers Private Hospital medical director Dr Chinna Samy. Picture: Facebook

She also began “transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment’’ to help address her illness.

Mr Messenger claims that on August 24, at 8.30pm, his wife, who was still assessed as low-risk despite her deteriorating condition, requested to “visit family” and was “granted leave unescorted”.

Ten minutes later, she was dead.

According to the claim, the defendants failed to “conduct an appropriate assessment of Mrs Messenger’s request for leave on the evening of August 24, 2018 with regard to Mrs Messenger’s declining mental state, response to treatment, the circumstances of the request and all other information”.

Mr Messenger, a traffic control shift supervisor, claims he suffered “nervous shock (and) psychological injury” upon being told of his wife’s death.

The defendants are yet to lodge their defence.

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