An Ontario man is suing a B.C. drug treatment centre and psychiatric nurse saying they breached their duty to him when she flirtatiously pursued him leading to a sexual relationship.
Craig Dolan, who describes himself as a “psychiatrically disabled Afghanistan veteran,” filed the notice of civil claim June 28 in B.C. Supreme Court.
The treatment centre in question is the Sunshine Coast Health Centre in Powell River. The nurse named in the claim is Victoria Wilson, a centre employee.
The claim said Dolan enrolled as an in-patient at the centre in 2019 for a 90-day program in order to deal with his combat-induced cocaine and heroin addiction.
However, he relapsed and returned for treatment in September 2021.
The claim said Wilson was employed at the centre during Dolan’s first stint, and that he was under her direct care during his second stay.
It was in that month’s third week, the claim said, that Wilson conducted a psychiatric assessment of him.
“The defendant Wilson, while treating the plaintiff, displayed flirtatious mannerisms toward the plaintiff telling him that he ‘smelled good,’” the claim said, adding the two began texting regularly.
The claim said Wilson told Dolan in October 2021 she was having a Christmas party and that he should sneak out to her condo. He said he couldn't do that.
The next day, while having a treatment session, they exchanged their first kiss.
Court documents state two days after that he snuck out of the centre to a hotel where they had sex, something that happened on several occasions. Later, they began having sex in his centre room and in her office, the claim said.
Soon, she began sending him nude photos and talked of becoming a couple. She also sent him pictures of her ovulation times, the claim said.
The claim said the intimate relationship continued after he was discharged from the centre Dec. 5, 2021. That night, he stayed at her condo and, the claim said, she told him, “I love you, I want to have your baby.”
Dolan then returned to Sault. Ste. Marie, Ont. Romantic cards and gifts were exchanged and he visited her in Vancouver. They also stayed in Toronto together, according to court documents.
As their relationship progressed, they began looking at wedding venues.
The claim said in April 2022, the two met in Vancouver and attended a hockey game and had expensive dinners. He bought her jewelry costing about $7,000 and paid for much of the $4,000 cost of the stay.
In mid-June 2022, the claim said, Wilson told Dolan the relationship was over.
The claim
The lawsuit asserts the centre and staff members should have been aware or been concerned about Wilson’s behaviour.
The claim refers to, “sexual acts, manipulation and inappropriate professional conduct inflicted on the plaintiff by the defendant Wilson and the abandonment of the defendant.”
It asserts Sunshine Coast Health Centre had a duty of care owed to the plaintiff who sustained serious personal injury, damages and loss.
Those injuries, the claim said, are anxiety, mental distress, emotional trauma, loss of confidence, withdrawal, emotional breakdown, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), insomnia, depression and relapse of his addiction and PTSD.
The claim alleges negligence on the part of the centre and a breach of fiduciary duty by both the centre and Wilson.
The suit seeks, general, special, punitive and aggravated damages.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Sunshine Coast Health Centre has not responded to a request for comment.
