‘It’s never really over, I still lost a child’: Jury returns with recommendations in Lexi Daken inquest

The jury in the coroner’s inquest into the death of 16-year-old Lexi Daken made several recommendations.

The jury in the coroner’s inquest into the death of 16-year-old Lexi Daken have determined the New Brunswick teen died by suicide on Feb. 24, 2021.

The five jurors also made several recommendations, but before unveiling them, they said they agree with the existing recommendations that were presented by Horizon Health and encouraged the health authority to continue its work implementing those items.

They followed up with seven of their own:

A “contract for safety” is when a practitioner asks a patient to agree they won’t harm him or herself. It was what the emergency room doctor asked Daken at least twice during her ER visit on Feb. 18, 2021.

After the recommendations were read, Daken’s father, Chris, told reporters he’s not sure the contract itself is the best practice.

“I guess from my point of view, is the safe contract a valuable tool for staff members or a patient to use? I kind of look at it as a burden off the shoulder of a doctor that they can have contract made,” he said. “So, if they discharge that person and they go home the next day and maybe die by suicide themselves, it's a verbal contract like how?”

Daken said he’d have to digest the recommendations, but he is hoping Horizon can provide more information on how the changes they say are already implemented have made a difference.