The family of a 24-year-old Indigenous woman who died after multiple visits to a St. Catharines hospital is urging a coroner’s jury to rule her death a homicide, citing alleged medical failures and systemic bias in her treatment.
Heather Winterstein, a member of the Cayuga Nation with ties to Six Nations of the Grand River, died of sepsis in December 2021 after seeking care twice within two days. During the inquest, the family’s lawyer argued that “actions and omissions” by medical staff — including a lack of proper assessment and treatment — contributed directly to her death and meet the threshold for a homicide finding.
The inquiry heard that during her first hospital visit, an emergency physician ruled out infection due to the absence of a fever and did not order bloodwork, despite her severe pain. She was sent home with instructions to return if her condition worsened. When she came back the next day, she waited for hours in the emergency department without being reassessed and eventually collapsed.
Medical experts testified that sepsis can occur without a fever and that timely blood tests and antibiotics could have significantly improved her chances of survival. Evidence presented also showed she was not monitored according to hospital protocols, which require frequent reassessment of patients in the emergency waiting area.
The inquest also examined the role of systemic bias in healthcare. Testimony suggested that factors such as Winterstein’s Indigenous identity, history of substance use, perceived housing instability and mental health background may have influenced how her symptoms were assessed and treated. Lawyers representing Indigenous organizations argued that systemic racism was a contributing factor in her death.
An autopsy confirmed that Winterstein died from a bacterial blood infection, though no clear source of infection was identified. The jury must now determine the manner of death — whether natural, accidental, homicide, suicide or undetermined — though such a ruling would not assign criminal liability.
The case has drawn renewed attention to gaps in emergency care, accountability in medical systems and the ongoing impact of systemic bias on Indigenous patients in Canada.
