Care home, ex-aides sued for alleged sexual abuse

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This article was published 09/10/2024 (334 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A family is suing two former health-care aides, a personal-care home and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority for the alleged sexual abuse of their late father almost 18 months after criminal charges were dropped against the workers.

The statement of claim filed last month is the latest development in a high-profile case involving claims as many as 15 residents of Oakview Place were mistreated by staff.

The lawsuit claims the former health-care aides stripped the resident naked and fondled his genitals during his stay at Extendicare Oakview Place sometime between August 2018 and July 2022.

The lawsuit is seeking $500,000 in damages for sexual battery and assault, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract.

The lawsuit claims Extendicare and the WRHA is liable for the resident’s treatment as they owe residents of Oakview place a duty of care.

In February 2022, care home staff informed Ontario-based operator Extendicare Inc. of the alleged mistreatment. The allegations weren’t made public until the WRHA held a news conference in June 2022.

The aides were arrested in September and police alleged at the time the two women used “inappropriate physical actions” to “gain the compliance” of five residents while caring for them between August 2021 and January 2022.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the resident’s daughters in Manitoba Court of King’s Bench, claims in June 2022 Winnipeg police advised one of the women her father had been a victim of abuse at the hands of the aides. The man, who died in September 2022, had Alzheimer’s disease. He was 88 years old.

Court documents say that on June 28, 2022, one of the daughters received a letter from the province’s Protection for Persons in Care Office saying an investigation into abuse allegations involving her father was underway at Oakview Place.

The lawsuit says an initial investigation by the provincial office found Extendicare employees had been found sleeping on the couch in the resident’s room and two employees had stripped him naked and “proceeded to fondle his genitals.”

The employees also called him “Mr. Wiggles,” the lawsuit alleges.

The claims have not been tested in court and a statement of defence has not been filed.

“The actions of the Defendants were egregious, malicious, high-handed, done with an intention to harm, and were a marked departure from the standards of decent behaviour.”–Statement of claim

“The actions of the defendants were egregious, malicious, high-handed, done with an intention to harm, and were a marked departure from the standards of decent behaviour,” the lawsuit states. “The defendants’ conduct was not only tortious, but criminal, and showed a complete disregard for (the resident’s) safety and well-being.”

One daughter claims she had met with Extendicare representatives, who said the involved employees and management had either been fired or quit.

“At the meeting, (she) raised the allegations… but Extendicare’s representatives were not transparent,” the claim alleges.

The accused were originally each charged with five counts of assault, with prosecutors ultimately authorizing one assault charge for each woman. The charges were dropped against the two women in May 2023 owing to the unlikelihood of conviction.

A Manitoba auditor general’s report released last year found the Protection for Persons in Care Office had dismissed several allegations of sexual assault and physical and verbal abuse at care homes as “unfounded,” saying they didn’t meet its definition of abuse.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca