Care home sued over alleged abuse

The daughter of an 85-year-old who died after she was allegedly neglected and abused at a Winnipeg long-term care home is suing the facility’s current and former operators.

Cari Goncalves filed the lawsuit in the Court of King’s Bench late last month on behalf of her mother Olga Ozubko’s estate.

Ozubko died on Sept. 15, 2024, following a medical emergency days earlier at Poseidon Care Centre, where she had lived since August 2022.

The lawsuit claims her death was the result of improper care she received at the facility, which exacerbated her existing medical issues.

The court filing says Goncalves filed a complaint with Manitoba’s Protection of Persons in Care Office.

“After completing its investigation, the PPCO confirmed by way of letter dated Nov. 24, 2025 that Olga had been subject to neglect and abuse while a resident at the facility,” reads the claim.

The court claim names Revera and Extendicare, as well as a numbered Ontario company that owns the property at 70 Poseidon Bay, as defendants. Revera operated the home until August 2023, when Extendicare took over.

Ozubko had several medical conditions, including kidney disease for which she was being treated by a specialist.

But, the court papers allege, Poseidon staff failed to provide Ozubko with appropriate care, medication and pain relief.

Ozubko suffered injuries while residing at the care centre, the lawsuit claims, including bedsores, several undiagnosed and either untreated or inadequately treated infections that resulted in necrotic tissue, as well as bone infections and chronic pain.

On Sept. 5, 2024, Ozubko began to develop breathing issues and staff contacted Goncalves, who advised them to call her mom’s kidney specialist and to increase dosages of an unspecified medication in the meantime, the court papers say.

Despite her instructions, the court claim alleges, Poseidon staff only gave Ozubko one increased dose and failed or neglected to consult her kidney specialist about the medical emergency.

She was taken to a hospital on Sept. 9 and died six days later.

“The plaintiff says that Olga died of complications related to multiple infections, which spread to her bones, weakened her system, and exacerbated her pre-existing medical conditions over time,” reads the court filing.

The lawsuit alleges Ozubko suffered a loss of dignity, emotional distress, and died prematurely as a result of the defendants’ negligence and breach of duty.

The court filing alleges the care home failed to provide her services that can be expected of reasonably competent medical professionals, failed to implement or follow proper care processes, failed to diagnose and treat her medical conditions, failed to monitor her for wounds and infections and to do anything about the wounds, among many other alleged failures.

The defendants, the court papers claim, generally failed “to meet the standards expected of a safe and competent personal care home in Manitoba.”

“The conduct of Poseidon was highly reprehensible misconduct that departed to a marked degree from ordinary standards of decent behaviour, and is deserving of punishment,” the court filing claims, as it argues for punitive damages.

The specific amount of damages sought is not included in the court filing.

Ozubko worked hard throughout her life to provide for her family as a single mother, an obituary says. She had two grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

The defendants have not yet responded to the claim in court.

Both Extendicare and Revera have been named in a number of Manitoba lawsuits in relation to the deaths of care home residents in recent years.

In 2022, Extendicare entered an agreement with Revera to take over management of most of Revera’s long-term care homes in Manitoba.

Extendicare’s management of Revera’s old Manitoba care homes took effect on Aug. 1, 2023.

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Revera owned and operated 11 long-term care and retirement homes in Winnipeg and one in Brandon.

Among Revera’s properties were Maples and Parkview Place personal care homes, where residents experienced disproportionately deadly consequences when COVID-19 spread.

Maples care home was the site of a significant outbreak of COVID-19 that killed 56 residents early in the pandemic.

A King’s Bench justice recently certified a class-action lawsuit against Revera and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority over their alleged failures to adequately plan for and respond to that outbreak, allowing the claim to proceed in court.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca