Meth User Suing Man Who Sold It to Her

Law 12 Tort Law Ms. Ripley 1 1

Meth user suing man who sold it to her

BIGGAR -- Staring at a photo of her then-19-year-old daughter lying lifeless in a hospital bed, tubes snaking out from her body, her organs shutting down and heart barely pumping, Georgina Bergen says the image doesn't disturb her anymore. "I've got her sitting beside me on the couch," she said, patting the tan plump sofa beside her.

The Biggar woman, her husband Stan and daughter Sandra are suing the man they allege sold the crystal meth that led to their daughter's near-fatal overdose, landing her at death's door last spring.

"The regular justice system can't hold these meth dealers accountable for the lives that they are taking and kids that they are killing," Georgina said. "The lawsuit is to make dealers responsible for their actions.

"They know they are selling a dangerous drug, they know what they are doing to the people they are selling it to, so how can they justify selling it when you're killing people with it?"

The statement of claim, filed Tuesday in Biggar, seeks compensation from a man, his grandmother and an unnamed person, "John Doe." Allegations in the claim have not been proven in court and a statement of defence has not been filed.

Sandra Bergen slipped into a coma hours after overdosing on methamphetamine late one May evening.

"It felt like somebody had stabbed a pencil into my temple and right into my brain," she said, recalling the moments after smoking the drug.

Sandra felt strange. She began sweating profusely, her clothes were soon soaking wet, and she began vomiting.

She went into the bathroom and began coughing blood, figuring she had damaged her lungs. She waited until several hours later before heading home to retrieve $40 for the dealer. When she returned home her legs and arms began turning blue. Her mother took her to a doctor and she was sent to a hospital in Biggar. Tests revealed Sandra had a heart attack.

She was taken to Royal University Hospital where she slipped into a coma hours later, her heart functioning at seven per cent capacity.

Doctors had told her parents she wouldn't make it through the night, but she miraculously recovered and was released from hospital days later, her heart now functioning at 58 per cent.

The lawsuit claims the male defendant knowingly sold the drug, which he knew was "highly addictive and harmful" to the young woman. Law 12 Tort Law Ms. Ripley 2 2

The claim says "such sale by (the man) was for the purpose of making money, but was also for the purpose of intentionally inflicting physical and mental suffering on Sandra."

The man's grandmother was aware that he was in possession of crystal meth and that he used her house to store the drug and sell it to Sandra and others, the claim says.

The defendants could not be reached for comment Friday.

Also named in the statement of claim is "John Doe," who the plaintiffs allege supplied the drugs to the defendant. The claim says when John Doe's identity is known, the plaintiffs will ask the court to have the name added to the lawsuit.

The Bergens are seeking general damages in excess of $50,000, special damages, any amount the Saskatchewan Medical Services plan may pay or has paid on behalf of the family for Sandra's treatment, aggravated and punitive damages and costs associated with the lawsuit.

But for Sandra, the lawsuit is not about the compensation.

Today the 21-year-old gets too tired to work a normal job and may not be able to have children because of her weak heart, she said.

"I am doing this just because I feel like the justice system works slow. It works, but it works slowly. I have no control over what happens there," Sandra said. "This way I have my own lawyers representing me and we can question him. In a criminal court he doesn't have to take a stand and I never get any closure over this."

Stuart Busse, the Bergans lawyer, said the case is based on a old law -- negligent action -- but what is "unusual about it is the activity of the person we are suing," he said.

He hopes the court will find the personal harm and anguish suffered by the parents as they stood by their daughter a foreseeable thing that the drug dealer should have anticipated and have to pay for, thereby setting a precedence.

"The idea then with the precedence we would like then at some point in time, maybe somebody else's child will die so there is no compensation to be claimed for the child but the parents can go after the dealer, supplier and sue them in civil court to get judgment against them," he said.

Also, it is the idea that there are long-term negative financial consequences for the seller or anybody else who helps a dealer.