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鈥檚 Day brunch.
That鈥檚 when a man crashed onto their car from above, 鈥渧iolently crushing Harold,鈥 the lawsuit says.
The father of two sustained 鈥渃atastrophic personal injuries鈥 and was hospitalized for a few days to undergo surgery. Lusthouse 鈥渆ndured great pain and suffering as well as profound physical and emotional shock鈥 before he died a couple of days later. The man who had crashed onto the car also died.
Lusthouse鈥檚 daughter, Tali Uditsky, 50, and son, Landon Lusthouse, 46, are seeking at least $1.7 million 鈥 plus legal costs if the case goes to trial. Lusthouse鈥檚 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.
Melissa Renwick/海角社区官网StarThe family has 鈥渟uffered and will continue to suffer from nervous and emotional shock, mental anguish, post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression,鈥 said a statement of claim filed Tuesday. It noted the family has run up significant expenses, including funeral costs, psychiatric counselling, medical, rehabilitative and 鈥渙ther out-of-pocket expenses.鈥
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.聽
According to the claim, the city 鈥渇ailed to consider and/or take steps to install a barrier at the Leaside Bridge for decades鈥 despite installing a barrier at the Bloor Viaduct in 2003. these barriers are an effective deterrence.
A city spokesperson said Thursday the municipality will respond to the lawsuit 鈥渋n due course,鈥 but currently had 鈥渘o further comment as the matter is before the court.鈥
The claim鈥檚 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 鈥渞ecklessly and carelessly鈥 failed to do the same on the Leaside Bridge, the claim alleges.
The lawsuit argues the city has addressed safety risks with bridges in 海角社区官网in a 鈥渉aphazard and reckless manner.鈥
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 海角社区官网Public Health, distress centres, police and Sunnybrook Hospital to identify 鈥減riority bridge locations鈥 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 鈥減erson in crisis,鈥 but not all of which resulted in suicide.聽
The claim argues the city should have known the Leaside Bridge is a 鈥渉igh-risk鈥 location and poses a safety risk to highway drivers below.
In 2018, the 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 鈥渉igh-risk location for suicide,鈥 it was a councillor鈥檚 motion last year following Lusthouse鈥檚 death that sparked the move to fast-track a barrier to the bridge.
The family鈥檚 lawsuit claims the city hired 鈥渋ncompetent employees, servants and/or agents鈥 to monitor, inspect and maintain the bridge, but also failed to 鈥減roperly train鈥 its staff to carry out these duties, including 鈥渞ecord-keeping鈥 of the bridge.
Last month, Uditsky and Landon made an emotional plea to council鈥檚 executive committee to install safety barriers on the bridge 鈥 and do it fast. Council voted in late April to do just that.
While it鈥檚 a step in the right direction, council鈥檚 decision doesn鈥檛 bring back Lusthouse, said the family鈥檚 lawyer Stephen Birman, who practises in personal injury law at聽Thomson聽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.
鈥淎 family鈥檚 life is never the same after something like this happens,鈥 Birman told the Star in an interview.
鈥淏ut 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,鈥 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鈥檛 get one much sooner, so they are 鈥渘ot in a position to comment on historical actions by the city.鈥
Birman said that the city can鈥檛 provide answers is another reason this lawsuit is important.
鈥淭o ensure that something like this doesn鈥檛 fall between the cracks,鈥 he said. 鈥淥ther major cities in Canada, like Montreal, Edmonton, Halifax and Vancouver, did act long ago. My clients want to know why 海角社区官网didn鈥檛.鈥澛
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 at 416-408-4357. The 24/7 is also now providing support citywide and can be reached by calling 2-1-1.
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