A man who alleges Seven Oaks General Hospital staff intentionally gave his 95-year-old father an opioid overdose, ultimately killing him, has filed a lawsuit against the facility, staff and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.
Winnipeg lawyer Faron Trippier filed the statement of claim in Court of King’s Bench late last month on behalf of the man, naming a doctor, two nurses, the hospital, the WRHA and health authority officials as defendants.
None of the defendants has responded with statements of defence and the claims have yet to be heard in court. No dollar figure is cited in the claim, which is seeking general damages for negligence, breach of duty and infliction of mental distress, as well as special, aggravated, punitive and exemplary damages.
The plaintiff’s father was admitted to Seven Oaks on Nov. 28, 2018, for what’s described as a “routine procedure” to drain fluid from around his lungs, the court papers say.
The 95-year-old, the court documents say, was physically strong and well for his age, but was kept at the hospital for a few days to be monitored after the successful procedure.
The next day, the plaintiff, who was his father’s primary caregiver and involved in his medical choices, entered the man’s room and saw that the oxygen tube was dislodged from his nose, and his father was gasping for air, the court papers allege.
The plaintiff then contacted the nursing supervisor about his father’s care, the claim alleges, and the supervisor said the responsible nurse would be disciplined, but the nurse did not face any repercussions and continued to provide care.
That nurse, the lawsuit claims, then “uttered a threat” to the plaintiff and his family over the attempted discipline, telling them she “would get” them.
The 95-year-old was not in palliative care, but his patient status was switched to “comfort care” during his stay at the hospital, the court papers say, which was allegedly not discussed with the plaintiff or his father.
The court papers claim the man’s specialist doctors didn’t agree to the status change, either.
Then, on Dec. 4 that year, the 95-year-old was prescribed one milligram of hydromorphone by the doctor named in the suit, despite the fact he was not suffering any pain that required any strong medications, the lawsuit claims.
On Dec. 7, a nurse named as a defendant administered a dose of the opioid, causing the man to fall into a deep sleep, the court papers allege.
He never woke up.
The man died on Dec. 9, 2018, which the claim alleges was a “direct result” of the fatal dose and a resultant respiratory depression.
The plaintiff claims he was not informed of the prescription and did not consent to it, nor were the 95-year-old’s specialist doctors. The lawsuit alleges the prescription was given without medical reasoning.
No proper records were kept, the court papers claim, and the hospital allegedly wouldn’t provide the plaintiff with the medical records pertaining to the treatment after a request.
The lawsuit alleges the defendants breached their duty of care to discuss potential risks of treatment with the father and son, and owed the son, as primary caregiver, informed consent to medical decisions.
The court papers call the actions of the defendants “malicious” and calculated to cause harm as a means of “getting back” at the plaintiff.
Erik Pindera
Reporter
Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik.
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