Family suing hospital over son’s ‘massive overdose’ of drug

The Alberta government and the father of a Calgary man who was left permanently disabled with severe brain damage after staff at Concordia Hospital in Winnipeg allegedly gave him a “massive overdose” of a powerful sedative while treating him for the flu in 2024 are suing for negligence.

Zachary Hoogerdyk’s dad, Edward Hoogerdyk, and the Alberta government filed a statement of claim last week in the Court of King’s Bench naming the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, provincial health agency Shared Health, Concordia Hospital, one doctor and two other hospital staff as defendants.

Hoogerdyk, who was 23 at the time, went to Concordia’s urgent care centre when he came down with flu-like symptoms and breathing difficulties that were getting worse on March 25, 2024, while he was in Winnipeg on business and to visit family, the court papers say.

A doctor diagnosed Hoogerdyk with low levels of oxygen in his blood and a strain of the flu, before ordering him to be sedated with propofol and intubated, the court claim says.

But, the lawsuit alleges, staff mistakenly gave Hoogerdyk a “massive overdose” of propofol — anywhere from 12 to 60 times the safe dosage range.

He soon went into cardiac arrest and his brain was deprived of oxygen for about seven minutes, causing a brain injury that has permanently and “profoundly impaired” his cognition, the court papers claim.

He’s been left unable to talk or communicate, the lawsuit says. His parents now have legal guardianship over him.

“He is unable to independently perform the most basic life functions such as eating and personal hygiene, and he requires and will require constant care, supervision and assistance for the rest of his life,” the court papers claim.

His right hand and both of his legs, below the knee, had to be amputated as a result of gangrene, which the court papers say would not have happened if not for the overdose.

Hoogerdyk was engaged to be married and working as a journeyman bricklayer prior to his debilitating injury at the Winnipeg hospital, the court papers say. He was sick for around a week and decided to go to the hospital when he developed a fever and shortness of breath, says the lawsuit.

Medical staff decided to intubate and sedate him about three hours after he arrived at Concordia, as his breathing worsened, the court papers say.

But soon everything went horribly wrong, the lawsuit claims.

Medical staff allegedly gave Hoogerdyk an infusion pump that distributed 150 milligrams of propofol for every kilogram of his body weight per hour, when the safe range is between just 0.6 to 3 milligrams, which the lawsuit calls an “extremely excessive, dangerous and negligent dose.”

It’s unclear who, exactly, ordered he be sedated with propofol, as it wasn’t recorded on his medical chart as it should have been, per procedures, the lawsuit claims.

A bottle containing 1,000 milligrams of propofol was connected to the pump, but it’s also unclear who connected or programmed the pump.

The court papers allege either all or most of the bottle flowed into Hoogerdyk’s bloodstream in 23 minutes or less.

Hoogerdyk was successfully intubated after two failed attempts, but his vital signs deteriorated rapidly and he soon went into cardiac arrest, the court papers say.

He was resuscitated and given more propofol afterward, the lawsuit claims.

Hoogerdyk was then sent to the Health Sciences Centre, where the normal flow of blood and oxygen to his extremities was disrupted — allegedly by the combination of the cardiac arrest and the treatments he was given to recover from it — leading to the gangrene, amputations and several other infections and medical issues, the court papers say.

What happened to Hoogerdyk was deemed a critical incident and health-care officials reviewed the situation, the court claim says.

Concordia Hospital officials told Hoogerdyk’s loved ones in September 2024 that someone made an error while administering the propofol to him, leading him to receive the entire 1,000 milligram bottle in a short period, says the lawsuit.

The lawsuit accuses medical staff, the hospital and the health agencies of negligence and breaching the standard of care they owed Hoogerdyk.

The hospital and the agencies, the claim says, failed to ensure the doctors and other staff were properly trained and qualified to give Hoogerdyk sedation and intubation.

The court papers say his family moved Hoogerydyk into a personal care home in February 2025, but the home only accepted him on the condition that a family member would provide him care daily from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. That his left his dad unable to work, the court claim says.

The court action is seeking a slew of unspecified damages for pain and suffering and various costs incurred by the family. The Alberta government wants compensation for health services it has provided and will continue to provide Hoogerdyk, since his injuries in Manitoba.

None of the defendants have responded in court and the lawsuit has yet to be heard by a judge.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca