The plaintiff was injured at a municipal pool when the defendant Singh made physical contact with her. The defendant Singh is severely autistic and required supervision and medication. The plaintiff sued Singh, the school board, the municipality, and Singh’s caregiver (his grandmother).
he caregiver was not with Singh when the incident occurred, but it was alleged that she ignored medical advice to increase dosages of his medications. The caregiver brought a motion to strike the claim as against her on the basis that she did not owe a duty of care to the plaintiff when she was not with Singh and not actively supervising him. In dismissing the motion to strike, Justice Gibson affirmed that caregivers may owe a duty of care for negligent conduct of a vulnerable child in appropriate circumstances. Justice Gibson reasoned that the defendant caregiver’s conduct and supervision of Singh as his loco parentis and main caregiver raised a genuine issue for trial.