The inquest into the death of an Aboriginal man at a Prince Albert hospital more than two years ago continued on Tuesday.
On November 29, 2012, Billy Ballantyne of the Little Red River reserve was taken to the Victoria Hospital. According to hospital security, Ballantyne appeared intoxicated and was bothering people. The Prince Albert police arrested the 44 year-old and he was taken to the police service’s jail cells. He was later returned to the hospital where he went into cardiac arrest and passed away.
A nurse who initially assessed Ballantyne said their appeared no symptoms of any immediate medical concern, but felt he should have seen a doctor before he was taken from the hospital. Since Ballantyne’s death, the Victoria Hospital has imposed a new policy which requires anyone to be taken by police from the hospital to be medically assessed by a doctor before they leave the facility.
The doctor who performed Ballantyne’s autopsy, Dr. Shaun Ladham, testified today that Ballantyne may have died because of an overdose of over-the-counter pain killers, such as Tylenol. Ladham said a lethal level of acetaminophen was found in Ballantyne’s system. He said a death of this nature is usually intentional. However, he says based on his autopsy findings, it may have been accidental — but there is no way to prove either possibility. Ladham did say that one of the side effects of an acetaminophen overdose is appearing intoxicated.
Witnesses testified that Ballantyne did appear intoxicated on the night he was at the Victoria Jospital. He had told a nurse he had a couple drinks.
His sister, Mabel Ballantyne, was with her brother on the day he was taken to hospital. She said today she did not see her brother drink any alcohol on that day, but he was taking Tylenol. Mabel said Billy was in so much pain that he was actually stealing pills from her and their mother, which according to Mabel, was unlike him. She testified she had stopped him from taking anymore pills. One of the arresting officers testified to having found an empty Tylenol bottle on Ballantyne.
The inquest will continue throughout the week to allow a coroner’s jury to make recommendations to prevent similar deaths in the future.