A father from Canada has filed a claim for wrongful death after his wife and 8-year-old son became ill and died within 24 hours of arriving at a resort in the Dominican Republic, where they had eaten at a buffet.
On January 27, Stephen Gougeon, 38, filed a lawsuit for roughly $7 million against the deaths of his wife, April Gougeon, 41, and his son, Oliver Gougeon.
“We organized this trip so that our family could take a break and unwind. Stephen Gougeon stated through his lawyer, “We never even considered the possibility that something like this could happen.”
He stated, “I don’t think I’ll ever recover,” during an interview with the New York Times. I have lost my wife, whom I loved dearly, and my son, who was a wonderful person and whom I was so excited to see grow up.
Wyndham Hotels and Air Transat are the two companies being sued in the action.
According to People magazine, a spokeswoman for Air Transat stated that the business is “deeply saddened” by the deaths, but they deny the allegations.
The statement read, “We supported the Gougeon family during the time that these events were happening.” “We do everything we can to help our clients in these situations by acting with care, caution, and kindness.” In addition, we are very careful when selecting our suppliers, and the hotel operator has promised us that they will fully cooperate with the authorities in order to clarify the circumstances surrounding these unfortunate fatalities.
We did not receive an instant response from Wyndham Hotels and Resorts when they were asked for a comment.
The Gougeons flew to the Dominican Republic with their two kids, Oliver and Wesley. This trip was the beginning of the events that led to the deaths that occurred on December 29, 2023.
According to the family’s lawyer, the family ate at a buffet at the Viva Dominicus Beach by Wyndham Resort and subsequently became ill. The family went to the clinic located at the resort, but their conditions got worse.
According to the lawyer, April and Oliver died at local hospitals, and the coroner’s report in the Dominican Republic stated that they died from secondary reasons related to food poisoning.
The lawsuit claims that food processing areas are not clean, that medical evaluations and treatment are not provided in a timely manner, and that staff members are not adequately trained to recognize and respond to emergencies.
Stephen Gougeon stated, “We called to ask for assistance.” “They did not take our call seriously, did not follow up on our request for medical assistance, and did not check in on us. When they eventually answered our additional request, they seemed to be uncertain on how to deal with the problem. These delays waste valuable time that could have been spent treating our sickness. In the end, it cost my wife and son their lives.
According to Meghan Hull Jacquin, the attorney who is representing the family, the level of incompetence in this case is astonishing.
She stated, “The Gougeon family was let down in so many ways.” Every year, tens of thousands of Canadians buy these all-inclusive packages because they believe that a holiday at a resort is safe. The Gougeons are taking action against the companies that were negligent and allowed this to happen. They are doing this not only to get answers and achieve a sense of justice for themselves, but also to bring attention to these events, make changes to the failed processes and procedures, and ideally protect other vacationers from having to go through anything similar.
April was described as a loving mother and a kind person in her obituary.
The obituary stated, “When others were in need, she was the first person to offer assistance.” “She was a skilled lawyer, and her family brought her the most happiness.”
The obituary went on to say that Oliver was a sensitive person with a good heart and an incredible gift for art.
It stated, “He loved to do many drawings and sketches, which showed his individuality and uniqueness.” He was a wonderful older brother and best friend to Wesley. Ollie’s laid-back nature helped him make a lot of friends.
