‘When Calls the Heart’ actress Mamie Laverock’s family planning to take legal action after 5-story fall at hospital
Mamie Laverock’s family is planning to take legal action against the hospital at which she fell from a five-story balcony.
The actress’ mother, Nicole Rockmann, told the Los Angeles Times Thursday that they are confident they have a “negligence-type case” against St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, Canada.
“We have a case. All we care about is that Mamie can make a recovery and that she’s alive and that she’s fighting and that she’s strong,” Rockmann said.
“It’s unbelievable that she’s with us.”
Rockmann went on to call it an “absolute miracle” that her daughter is alive and blamed the hospital for the fall, which she clarified was not “intended” and not a suicide attempt.
“There will be accountability,” she vowed, adding that Laverock had been transferred to a trauma center and was no longer being treated at St. Paul’s.
A spokesperson for Providence Health Care, which operates St. Paul’s, confirmed to the outlet that “an incident happened” at the hospital but could not get into details due to patient privacy.
“In cases related to patient safety, an internal critical incident review is conducted to determine exactly what happened and to make recommendations for improved patient safety,” the rep said.
“Our hearts go out to the patient, family, and all affected by this event, and we offer our best wishes for a full recovery.”
When Rockmann spoke to the LA Times, Laverock had “just opened her eyes” and was “aware” enough to be able to squeeze her mom’s hand.
Still, she said her daughter was in “tremendous pain” because her body had been “shattered” and that she remained sedated to stay still while recovering from several multi-hour surgeries.
After the five-story fall, which Rockmann previously said occurred on May 26 as Laverock was being “escorted out of a secure unit of the hospital and taken up to a balcony walkway,” the Hallmark Channel star “sustained life threatening injuries” and was placed “on life support.”
Her mom told the outlet that she remained on life support but was off a ventilator after her surgeries.
Rockmann also provided an update via the GoFundMe she and her family set up to help cover some of Laverock’s medical expenses, explaining that her daughter had undergone three operations so far.
“She has undergone two 11 hour surgeries with two doctors working on her, a three hour surgery and another surgery today,” Rockmann shared, adding that Laverock was “‘doing well’ comparatively to when she arrived. Doing well because she has survived these extensive surgeries.”
She made sure to note that the actress “loves her life and loves her family and is fighting hard everyday [sic].”
Rockmann also said that she and her family had “nothing but gratitude for the doctors and nurses who have been exemplary in [Laverock’s] care since May 26.”
The GoFundMe was initially set up after Laverock experienced some kind of life-threatening “medical emergency” in Winnipeg, Canada, on May 11, at which point Rockmann “traveled” to her daughter and got “there in time to save her life.”
The fundraiser page did not elaborate on the nature of the crisis.
From the hospital in Winnipeg, Laverock was transported to St. Paul’s. Before the fall, Rockmann said her daughter’s recovery was “unclear” but that she was “showing signs of improvement.”
At the time, Rockmann anticipated Laverock would need care for “upwards of a month or more.”
