Latest news with #HaroldLusthouse
CTV News
10-05-2025
- CTV News
Family suing City of Toronto for $1.7 million, after a man died after falling from bridge
Video A man fell from the Leaside bridge and landed on top of Harold Lusthouse, who died just days later from his injuries.
Hamilton Spectator
10-05-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
Family sues city over lack of suicide barriers on Leaside Bridge after dad killed by falling man
The family of a man who died last June after the vehicle he was in was struck by a person jumping from the Leaside Bridge is suing the city for failing to put up suicide barriers. Four days short of his 77th birthday, Harold Lusthouse had been a passenger in a car on the Don Valley Parkway, with his wife behind the wheel. They had been headed to a Father's Day brunch. That's when a man crashed onto their car from above, 'violently crushing Harold,' the lawsuit says. The father of two sustained 'catastrophic personal injuries' and was hospitalized for a few days to undergo surgery. Lusthouse 'endured great pain and suffering as well as profound physical and emotional shock' before he died a couple of days later. The man who had crashed onto the car also died. Lusthouse's daughter, Tali Uditsky, 50, and son, Landon Lusthouse, 46, are seeking at least $1.7 million — plus legal costs if the case goes to trial. Lusthouse's grandchildren, ages 18 and 20, are also part of the suit. The view of the Don Valley Parkway from the Leaside Bridge, which carries Millwood Road. The family has 'suffered and will continue to suffer from nervous and emotional shock, mental anguish, post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression,' said a statement of claim filed Tuesday. It noted the family has run up significant expenses, including funeral costs, psychiatric counselling, medical, rehabilitative and 'other out-of-pocket expenses.' Initial reports said the man on the bridge jumped, according to police notes obtained by the Star from the day of the incident. The police service has not definitively confirmed that it was a suicide, but has previously told the Star the case is not criminal. According to the claim, the city 'failed to consider and/or take steps to install a barrier at the Leaside Bridge for decades' despite installing a barrier at the Bloor Viaduct in 2003. Studies have shown these barriers are an effective deterrence. A city spokesperson said Thursday the municipality will respond to the lawsuit 'in due course,' but currently had 'no further comment as the matter is before the court.' The claim's allegations have not been tested in court. The Bloor Viaduct was once second in North America, only to the Golden Gate Bridge, in the number of suicides it saw each year. Its barrier has since saved dozens of lives, with suicides falling from 48 in the five years before the barrier to just two in the subsequent 17 years. The city 'recklessly and carelessly' failed to do the same on the Leaside Bridge, the claim alleges. The lawsuit argues the city has addressed safety risks with bridges in Toronto in a 'haphazard and reckless manner.' Council voted Thursday to have senior city officials to negotiate a contract 'on a non-competitive basis' for the barrier's design. Council voted Thursday to have senior city officials to negotiate a contract 'on a non-competitive basis' for the barrier's design. Prior to the lawsuit being filed, the city told the Star that it works with Toronto Public Health, distress centres, police and Sunnybrook Hospital to identify 'priority bridge locations' using several factors, including the number of deaths by suicide, suicide attempts at each location and whether the bridge crosses a roadway or a pedestrian trail. The number of suicides at Leaside Bridge reached nine as recently as 2022, similar to the Bloor Viaduct before its barrier went up, according to police data obtained by the Star. As of last year, the police service continued to field numerous calls each year near the bridge about a 'person in crisis,' but not all of which resulted in suicide. The claim argues the city should have known the Leaside Bridge is a 'high-risk' location and poses a safety risk to highway drivers below. In 2018, the city's chief medical officer of health warned council of the dangers of high-risk bridges and to install barriers. That same year, the city began reviewing the feasibility of barriers as part of its state-of-good-repair, decade-long bridge rehabilitation project. But city staff told council last month that Leaside was not a part of that program. Though the city has since identified the Leaside Bridge as another 'high-risk location for suicide,' it was a councillor's motion last year following Lusthouse's death that sparked the move to fast-track a barrier to the bridge. The family's lawsuit claims the city hired 'incompetent employees, servants and/or agents' to monitor, inspect and maintain the bridge, but also failed to 'properly train' its staff to carry out these duties, including 'record-keeping' of the bridge. Last month, Uditsky and Landon made an emotional plea to council's executive committee to install safety barriers on the bridge — and do it fast. Council voted in late April to do just that . While it's a step in the right direction, council's decision doesn't bring back Lusthouse, said the family's lawyer Stephen Birman, who practises in personal injury law at Thomson Rogers LLP. Tali Uditsky and Landon Lusthouse, the children of Harold Lusthouse, gave an emotional presentation about the death of their father at city hall on April 9. The 76-year-old was killed when a person fell from the Leaside Bridge last year, landing on his car. 'A family's life is never the same after something like this happens,' Birman told the Star in an interview. 'But above and beyond that, this is an issue about public safety and how a municipality should respond to known dangers or hazards in the community,' he continued. Prior to the lawsuit, city staff told the Star it was not involved in the decision-making processes of more than 20 years ago regarding the Bloor Viaduct, and why Leaside didn't get one much sooner, so they are 'not in a position to comment on historical actions by the city.' Birman said that the city can't provide answers is another reason this lawsuit is important. 'To ensure that something like this doesn't fall between the cracks,' he said. 'Other major cities in Canada, like Montreal, Edmonton, Halifax and Vancouver, did act long ago. My clients want to know why Toronto didn't.' If you are thinking of suicide or know someone who is, there is help. Resources are available online at or . You can also connect 24 hours a day to the national Suicide Crisis Helpline at 9-8-8 (text or call), the Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868 or Toronto Distress Centres at 416-408-4357. The 24/7 Toronto Community Crisis Service is also now providing support citywide and can be reached by calling 2-1-1.
CBC
10-05-2025
- CBC
Family of victim killed after man fell from Toronto's Leaside Bridge sues city over lack of suicide barriers
Social Sharing WARNING: This story contains discussion of suicide. Last month, Tali Uditsky tearfully addressed Toronto city councillors, telling the story of her father's tragic death after his car was struck by a man plummeting from the Leaside Bridge. Uditsky said Harold Lusthouse, 76, had been on his way to meet her for a Father's Day brunch in June when someone lept from the bridge toward the Don Valley Parkway. The man landed on Lusthouses's car, crushing him in the passenger seat. "He was stolen away from us ... as a result of the failure of the city to protect its citizens," Uditsky told councillors in April, just before they unanimously voted to press city staff to speed up barrier installation. Uditsky and her family are now suing the city for the lack of suicide barriers along the bridge, which the lawsuit alleges would have prevented Lusthouse's death. Lusthouse died in hospital days after the incident, suffering "catastrophic personal injuries" and undergoing multiple medical procedures "accompanied by great pain and suffering," according to the lawsuit. Uditsky, along with Lusthouse's son and two grandchildren, are listed as the plaintiffs in the suit. They are suing the city for a total of $1.7 million dollars as well as potential future legal costs. A city spokesperson told CBC they received the statement of claim and will respond in due course. "The City has no further comment as the matter is before the court," they wrote in an email. None of the allegations in the lawsuit have been tested in court. WATCH: Councillors push to speed up suicide barrier installation along Leaside Bridge: Do Toronto's bridges need more suicide barriers? 28 days ago Duration 2:37 The lawsuit alleges Lusthouse's death was caused by the negligence of the city, which had a duty to ensure the bridge was safe for the public, including the vehicles passing below it. "[The city] knew or ought to have known that the Leaside Bridge was a 'high-risk location' for incidents," the lawsuit says. There were 17 suicides or attempted suicides from the Leaside Bridge in 2023, nine in 2024 and none in 2025 as of April 28, according to police figures. The suit also alleges the city hired "incompetent employees, servants and/or agents to carry out monitoring, inspection, and/or maintenance," of the bridge, adding that staff were not properly trained. It also alleges the city failed to have trained staff handling the bridge's record-keeping. It claims the city didn't follow up on or implement recommendations made by its chief medical officer and Transportation Service in 2018. They had separately warned about the bridge's dangers and advised the city to look into safety measures, according to the lawsuit. "The City of Toronto, through its failure to protect the public despite numerous warnings calls, has acted with reckless indifference and/or willful blindness," the lawsuit says. Family deprived of Lusthouse's 'comfort, guidance, and companionship' Lusthouse's family members are also claiming damages for the emotional and financial impact of his loss. The lawsuit says they've "suffered and will continue to suffer from nervous and emotional shock, mental anguish, post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression," in the aftermath of his death. It says they "have been deprived of the benefit of their father/grandfather Harold's care, comfort, guidance, and companionship." Along with the costs of Lusthouse's funeral and counselling for the family, they also claim damages for the loss of support from Lusthouse, financial or otherwise. His estate is claiming damages for the suffering he went through leading up to his death. The lawsuit made reference to the Bloor Street Viaduct bridge, which was once the second most-used suicide site in North America after San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. After suicide barriers were installed there in 2003, suicides dropped from around nine per year to near zero, according to a 2017 University of Toronto study. A feasibility study on the Leaside Bridge has been underway since 2016, when the city planned to install suicide barriers on all major Toronto bridges, Coun. James Pasternak previously told CBC. It could take years until construction for suicide barriers begins under the current plan. In April, city councillors gave staff until Sept. 26 to come up with a plan to install a temporary one.
