A 17-year-old high school student ended up dying from suicide hours after reading the contents of her mental health records.
Maya Cassady rolled out a freedom of information request for her medical data through Vancouver Coastal Health in March of 2023. This is just two months before she was due to graduate from high school.
Maya was accepted into her dream school in the Netherlands, and she had big plans to study European law. However, her future soon got cut short the same day her records arrived in the mailbox, as her heartbroken mom called this the ultimate trigger leading to her death.
The teenager from Vancouver was admitted to Lions Gate Hospital for a four-day stay the same month before, and eventually requested the records from this visit. Maya was treated for an overdose of acetaminophen, which doctors concluded was an attempted suicide.
During her last stay, doctors went on to list Maya’s diagnosis as chronic dysthymia versus depressive disorder. They classified this teen as not acutely suicidal. It was concluded by the victim’s mom that her daughter was searching for her diagnosis on the web immediately after getting her hands on the records 30 days later. Her pals saw her poring over the documents on her way to school and during her free time. She truly felt hopeless and thought there was no cure for her condition, calling it untreatable.