Former, current care home operators deny responsibility in resident’s 2024 death

An 85-year-old died because of her medical conditions, not neglect or abuse at a Winnipeg long-term care home, the facility’s current and former operators say in response to a wrongful death suit launched by the woman’s daughter.

Cari Goncalves filed her claim in the Court of King’s Bench in March on behalf of her mother Olga Ozubko’s estate, naming Revera and Extendicare, as well as a numbered Ontario company that owns the property where Poseidon Care Centre is situated, as defendants.

Revera operated the home until August 2023, when Extendicare took over.

Ozubko died in hospital on Sept. 15, 2024, following a medical emergency days earlier at the care home, where she had lived since August 2022.

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

In a statement of defence filed late last month, the care home defendants argue Poseidon staff gave her reasonable care and deny allegations of negligence or abuse.

The defendants have asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit.

“The defendants say that Olga suffered from many serious pre-existing conditions commensurate with her age and health, and deny that any act or omission by the defendants caused the death and the damages claimed,” reads the defence filing.

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

The lawsuit alleges Poseidon staff failed to provide Ozubko with appropriate care, medication and pain relief, which the care home defendants have denied.

Ozubko suffered injuries, including bed sores, while residing at the home that were either untreated or inadequately treated, the lawsuit claims.

The care home defendants claim she was given appropriate care, medication and pain relief, or it was offered to her, which she occasionally refused.

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

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

The care home defendants allege staff assessed her on Sept. 5 and found she was not in respiratory distress, while assessments on Sept. 6 and 7 similarly found her to be breathing well. She was given treatments for skin issues, the statement of defence says.

Staff then found her to have breathing issues on Sept. 8, called a doctor to increase the dose in the medication and had her sent to hospital that evening, the defendants argue.

Ozubko died on Sept. 15, 2024 of complications related to multiple infections that had spread to her bones, Goncalves’s lawsuit says.

Goncalves’s lawsuit also says she filed a complaint with Manitoba’s Protection of Persons in Care Office, which said in a November 2025 letter that Ozubko had been “subject to neglect and abuse while a resident at the facility.”

But the care home defendants deny the PPCO made that finding.

“The defendants say that the PPCO office investigated neglect, not abuse, the investigation was not complete, the conclusion was in error, and not determinative,” the defence filing claims.

A judge has not yet heard the lawsuit.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca