Psychiatrists say the mother’s behaviour is consistent with Munchausen Syndrome by proxy.
The grandfather of a seven-year-old girl killed in 2017 is intending to sue the hospital that treated her ahead of her death, which her mother has since been charged with murder for.
Lonnie Gautreau says he believes mandatory reporting laws that require health care professionals to report abuse were not followed by the hospital in which his granddaughter Olivia Gant was treated for an illness she did not have.
His daughter-in-law, Olivia’s mother Kelly Turner, is accused of claiming Olivia was terminally ill in order to gain sympathy and money.
The heartbroken grandfather claims this led to numerous unnecessary medical procedures on the 7-year-old, who wasn’t actually sick.
Turner took her to Children’s Hospital of Colorado more than 1,000 times, and the hospital wound up signing off on sending Olivia to hospice at the mother’s request despite one doctor’s strong objections.
Once at hospice, her feeding tube was removed, and she spent 19 days without food.
“She opened her eyes and looked at me and recognised me and said, ‘Paw Paw, I’m hungry,'” Gautreau said in an interview with CBS4. “She was hungry.”
Two days later, Olivia died.
It wasn’t until two years after her death that her case was reported to the Department of Human Services. A doctor reportedly became suspicious when Turner brought another daughter to the hospital with what she claimed to be bone pain.
In blog posts, local news stories and a GoFundMe site, Turner spoke about diseases Olivia had that were not backed up by medical records. She claimed the 7-year-old had a seizure disorder, a tumour and a buildup of fluid in her brain cavities.
Psychiatrists say her behaviour is consistent with Munchausen Syndrome by proxy.
Turner was indicted on Olivia’s death in 2019 and now faces 13 charges, including murder, child abuse, theft and charitable fraud.
Olivia’s family informed the hospital and other providers a notice of intent to sue, in which they’re seeking up to $25 million for a failure to report the abuse on time.
“I want the truth,” Gautreau continued. “I want to know why nobody called and that policy the hospital had has to be changed to protect other children.
“Somebody needs to be held accountable, because that baby did not have to die.”
Children’s Hospital of Colorado told CBS4 it plans to defend itself in the litigation and that it “shares in the sadness of Olivia’s short-lived life.”
