Concordia doctor denies responsibility for Calgary man’s permanent disability

A Concordia Hospital doctor accused in a negligence lawsuit after a Calgary man was left permanently disabled when he was given a massive overdose of a powerful sedative has denied she ordered he be given the drug.

Zachary Hoogerdyk’s father, Edward Hoogerdyk, and the Alberta government filed their statement of claim earlier this year in Court of King’s Bench naming the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, provincial health agency Shared Health, Concordia Hospital, Dr. Anna Ziomek and two other hospital staff as defendants.

Hoogerdyk, who was 23 at the time, went to Concordia’s urgent-care centre with flu-like symptoms and worsening breathing difficulties on March 25, 2024 while he was in Winnipeg on business and to visit family, the lawsuit says.

The claim alleges Ziomek diagnosed Hoogerdyk with low levels of oxygen in his blood and a strain of the flu, before ordering him to be intubated.

The lawsuit claims Ziomek — or two other medical staff who are unidentified in the court filing — then ordered Hoogerdyk be sedated with propofol for the procedure. The lawsuit claims the name of the individual who ordered the dose was not properly recorded on his medical chart.

The lawsuit claims hospital staff mistakenly gave Hoogerdyk a “massive overdose” of propofol — anywhere from 12 to 60 times the safe dosage range — resulting in cardiac arrest, oxygen deprivation and “very severe, debilitating and permanent” brain damage.

Ziomek, in a recent statement of defence, denies ordering Hoogerdyk be given any dosage of propofol ahead of the breathing-tube procedure.

Ziomek’s defence filing asks the court to dismiss the lawsuit and grant her costs.

“She denies ordering a propofol dose in connection with the intubation, was not in the room when the order was given and the medication administered, and was not aware that propofol had been administered to Zachary at the time,” reads Ziomek’s court filing.

“After Zachary was intubated, he had a cardiac arrest. A code blue was called and CPR was initiated. After two minutes, a pulse was located.”

Ziomek’s court papers say she then ordered an appropriate propofol dose — after looking up a proper dosage in a manual — when preparing to have Hoogerdyk transported HSC.

“Zachary was then transferred to (Health Sciences Centre) for further treatment. Dr. Ziomek did not have any further involvement in his care, and therefore has no, or incomplete knowledge of his condition thereafter.”

Ziomek has worked in emergency medicine at Concordia since 1983, her court filing says.

She denies she was negligent in providing care to Hoogerdyk.

“Dr. Ziomek says that all steps taken and things done by her were taken and done in accordance with approved medical practice, and the standards that could reasonably be expected of an attending physician in the circumstances,” reads the doctor’s statement of defence.

Hoogerdyk now requires 24-hour care and his parents have legal guardianship over him.

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

The lawsuit is seeking 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 to Hoogerdyk as a result of his injuries in Manitoba.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca