DENVER (KDVR) — There’s nothing quite like the bond between a little girl and her papa.
Lonnie Gautreau will always cherish the time he had with his 7-year-old granddaughter Olivia.
Olivia Gant died in 2017 after being hospitalized numerous times for a terminal illness it turns out she may not have actually suffered from.
Gant’s mother, Kelly Turner, first brought her daughter to Children’s Hospital Colorado to be treated for constipation in 2012. She proceeded to visit the hospital more than 1,000 times over the next five years.
Turner is now behind bars, charged with murder, for allegedly faking her daughter’s illness.
“Somebody needs to be held accountable, because that baby did not need to die,” explained Gautreau.
Gautreau is angry at Gant’s mother, but he’s even more furious at the doctors and nurses he says let it happen.
Gautreau says not only did doctors perform more than two dozen unnecessary procedures on Gant, they also failed to report suspected child abuse to the state, despite Colorado’s mandated reporting laws.
“Six doctors testified she was not terminally ill, and when they got down to the end they had these ethics meetings about what to do, and there were arguments,” Gautreau said.
Records show the hospital investigated concerns internally that Gant wasn’t ill, and was the subject of medical child abuse, but did not alert outside authorities.
Gautreau and other family members have filed a civil lawsuit against the hospital seeking $25 million.
The FOX31 Problem Solvers reached out to Colorado Children’s Hospital. The hospital declined our request for an interview, but released this statement:
“We cannot comment at this time, given pending and actual litigation. Children’s Hospital Colorado intends to vigorously defend itself against any claims regarding its care of Olivia, and we continue to share sadness in Olivia’s short-lived life.”
However, Gautreau and his attorney argue the hospital discounted concerns from some doctors and allowed Gant’s mother to stop the girl’s nutrition.
Gant eventually died after being taken to hospice where she was heavily medicated and fed popsicles and juice for 19 days until she died.