Family of victim killed after man fell from Toronto's Leaside Bridge sues city over lack of suicide barriers

Naama Weingarten · CBC News

· Posted: May 09, 2025 9:37 PM EDT | Last Updated: 23 minutes ago

WARNING: This communicative contains treatment of suicide.

Last month, Tali Uditsky tearfully addressed Toronto metropolis councillors, telling the communicative of her father's tragic death after his car was struck by a antheral plummeting from the Leaside Bridge.

Uditsky said Harold Lusthouse, 76, had been connected his mode to conscionable her for a Father's Day brunch successful June erstwhile idiosyncratic lept from the bridge toward the Don Valley Parkway. The antheral landed connected Lusthouses's car, crushing him in the rider seat.

"He was stolen distant from america ... arsenic a effect of the nonaccomplishment of the metropolis to support its citizens," Uditsky told councillors successful April, conscionable earlier they unanimously voted to property metropolis unit to velocity up obstruction installation. 

Uditsky and her household are now suing the metropolis for the deficiency of termination barriers along the bridge, which the suit alleges would person prevented Lusthouse's death. 

Lusthouse died successful infirmary days aft the incident, suffering "catastrophic idiosyncratic injuries" and undergoing aggregate aesculapian procedures "accompanied by large symptom and suffering," according to the lawsuit. 

Uditsky, on with Lusthouse's lad and 2 grandchildren, are listed arsenic the plaintiffs successful the suit. They are suing the metropolis for a full of $1.7 cardinal dollars arsenic good arsenic imaginable aboriginal ineligible costs. 

A metropolis spokesperson told CBC they received the connection of assertion and volition respond successful owed course. 

"The City has nary further remark arsenic the substance is earlier the court," they wrote successful an email.

None of the allegations in the suit person been tested successful court.

WATCH: Councillors push to velocity up termination obstruction installation on Leaside Bridge: 

The suit alleges Lusthouse's decease was caused by the negligence of the city, which had a work to guarantee the span was harmless for the public, including the vehicles passing beneath it. 

"[The city] knew oregon ought to person known that the Leaside Bridge was a 'high-risk location' for incidents," the suit says. 

There were 17 suicides oregon attempted suicides from the Leaside Bridge successful 2023, 9 successful 2024 and nary successful 2025 arsenic of April 28, according to constabulary figures. 

The suit besides alleges the metropolis hired "incompetent employees, servants and/or agents to transportation retired monitoring, inspection, and/or maintenance," of the bridge, adding that unit were not decently trained. It besides alleges the metropolis failed to person trained unit handling the bridge's record-keeping. 

It claims the metropolis didn't travel up connected oregon instrumentality recommendations made by its main aesculapian serviceman and Transportation Service successful 2018. They had separately warned astir the bridge's dangers and advised the metropolis to look into information measures, according to the lawsuit.

"The City of Toronto, done its nonaccomplishment to support the nationalist contempt galore warnings calls, has acted with reckless indifference and/or willful blindness," the suit says.

Family deprived of Lusthouse's 'comfort, guidance, and companionship'

Lusthouse's household members are besides claiming damages for the affectional and fiscal interaction of his loss. 

The suit says they've "suffered and volition proceed to endure from tense and affectional shock, intelligence anguish, post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression," successful the aftermath of his death. 

It says they "have been deprived of the payment of their father/grandfather Harold's care, comfort, guidance, and companionship."

Along with the costs of Lusthouse's ceremonial and counselling for the family, they besides claim damages for the nonaccomplishment of enactment from Lusthouse, fiscal oregon otherwise.

His property is claiming damages for the suffering helium went done starring up to his death.

The suit made notation to the Bloor Street Viaduct bridge, which was erstwhile the 2nd most-used termination tract successful North America aft San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. After termination barriers were installed determination successful 2003, suicides dropped from astir 9 per twelvemonth to adjacent zero, according to a 2017 University of Toronto study.

A feasibility survey connected the Leaside Bridge has been underway since 2016, erstwhile the metropolis planned to instal termination barriers connected each large Toronto bridges, Coun. James Pasternak antecedently told CBC.

It could instrumentality years until operation for termination barriers begins nether the existent plan. In April, metropolis councillors gave unit until Sept. 26 to travel up with a program to instal a impermanent one. 

If you oregon idiosyncratic you cognize is struggling, here's wherever to get help:

• Canada's Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call oregon substance 988.

• Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868. Text 686868. Live chat counselling connected the website.

• Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention: Find a 24-hour situation centre.

• This usher from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health outlines however to speech astir termination with idiosyncratic you're disquieted about.