Health Sciences Centre, Concordia Hospital, St. Boniface Hospital, and Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and Shared Health are named as defendants in this lawsuit.
According to Darlene Demski, her husband Darrell, 69, died of cardiogenic shock and sepsis.
In the deposition submitted to the Court, it is indicated that Darrell Demski had been admitted to the Saint-Boniface Hospital on May 8, 2022 because of severe pain in the left collarbone.
Medical imaging examinations had shown that the latter had lesions on the left lung and clavicle and he had then been diagnosed with presumed lung cancer.
The 69-year-old was due for further tests on June 6 to confirm the diagnosis and he remained in hospital until May 19, when he was sent home against his doctor’s advice because Hôpital de Saint-Boniface needed more empty beds for the long weekend.
Less than two weeks later, Darrell Demski had been admitted to the intensive care unit of Common Care because he was having difficulty breathing. Medical results indicated that he had a high level of white blood cells and other symptoms linked to an infection.
He had also informed the healthcare workers treating him that his urine was abnormal, but no urine test had been performed.
On June 2, 2022, Darrell Demski was transferred to Concordia Hospital due to a lack of beds in Common Care. It was then that his condition worsened and he had to undergo surgery because of his kidneys.
Following this operation, his condition stabilized and the doctors decided to transfer him to Hôpital de Saint-Boniface for urgent care. It was then that he was diagnosed with cardiogenic shock and sepsis caused by a urinary tract infection caused by E. coli bacteria.
According to the lawsuit, Darrell Demski spent more than two months at the Saint-Boniface Hospital after this diagnosis, without however undergoing further tests, before returning home on August 9, 2022. The latter died. four days later.
His widow, Darlene Demski, alleges the defendants did not intervene until her husband was in critical condition, even though there were strong indications that his condition was rapidly deteriorating.
So far, none of these allegations have been proven in court.
A spokesperson expressed condolences to Darrell Demski’s family, but declined to comment on the legal action as the matter is still ongoing.
The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, which is also responsible for Concordia Hospital and St. Boniface Hospital, also declined to comment on the matter.
With information from Sarah Petz
