A Toronto family has filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against a Canadian travel company and a Dominican hotel after food poisoning claimed the lives of a mother and son more than a year ago.
According to the New York Post, the family is seeking $10 million in damages.
In a news release Monday, the law firm representing Stephen Gougeon and surviving son Wesley, along with his wife’s parents and relatives, said the family booked an all-inclusive vacation package at a Dominican Republic resort and travelled to the Caribbean destination during the Christmas holidays in December 2023.
The family had planned for a week’s stay at the Viva Dominicus Beach by Wyndham in La Romana.
However, within 24 hours, all four became ill after eating from the hotel’s buffet, the suit alleges.
The family claims repeated requests for medical attention went unanswered as their condition deteriorated. By the time they arrived at a local hospital, it was too late. Gougeon’s wife April and eight-year-old son Oliver died shortly after, on Dec. 29, 2023.
He and his son were treated for two days before they were released, the family said.
“We called asking for help,” Gougeon claims in a statement shared by Toronto law firm Howie, Sacks & Henry LLP.
“They did not take our call seriously, did not follow up on our request for medical help, and did not check in on us. When they finally responded after our further plea, there appeared to be confusion about how to handle the situation. These delays cost precious time that could have been used to treat our illness. And in the end, it cost my wife and my son their lives.”
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The family said a coroner’s report conducted in the Dominican Republic found that April and Oliver died from secondary causes related to food poisoning.
The suit named Wyndham Hotel Canada II. Inc., Air Transat Holidays A.T. Inc., Transat Tours Canada Inc., Viva Dominicus Beach by Wyndham, and Clinica Canela, the on-site medical clinic, as defendants.
“Flying back home without April and Oliver sitting beside as they had done just days earlier is indescribable,” Gougeon said. “We planned this trip so our family could get some rest and relaxation. The thought that something like this could happen was the furthest thing from our minds.”
The claim alleges poor sanitary conditions in food preparation areas, the absence of timely onsite medical evaluation and treatment, and the poor training of staff to identify and deal with emergencies.
The family said they booked the holiday with companies they were familiar with because they believed there were high health and safety standards at those businesses.
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“We would give anything to have April and Oliver back with us,” Gougeon said. “We know that can’t happen. But if we are able to compel these companies to answer to their failings, maybe we will save other families from knowing the pain we felt and still feel every day.”
According to an online obituary, April was a devoted mother who had a nurturing spirit and kind manner.
“She was the first one to assist when others were in time of need,” the obituary reads. “She was a talented lawyer and family was her greatest joy.”
Oliver was described as a sensitive spirit with a kind heart who also had an amazing talent for art.
The lawyer representing the family said the negligence alleged in the lawsuit is shocking.
“The Gougeon family was failed on so many levels,” Meghan Hull Jacquin said in a statement. “Tens of thousands of Canadians purchase these all-inclusive packages each year thinking a resort vacation is safe.
“The Gougeons are taking action against the companies whose negligence allowed this to happen, not only to get answers and realize a sense of justice for themselves, but to shine light on these events, effect change in the failed processes and procedures and ideally protect other vacationers from having to experience anything similar.”
In memory of April and Oliver’s passing, friends and family established the April Gougeon (Stoker) Award in Law at Queen’s University in Kingston in their honour.
The award will support students with preference given to those enrolled in a course on Information Privacy Law based on financial need and academic achievement.