A Canadian man has filed a lawsuit against Wyndham Resorts after his wife and eight-year-old son died from food poisoning while on vacation in 2023. Stephen Gougeon claims that the family became violently ill after eating at the buffet at the Viva Dominicus Beach resort.
"We were all throwing up," Gougeon told CTV News. "It progressed to a point where we had to try and seek medical attention."
When Stephen contacted the resort's staff, they told him to seek medical attention at the on-site medical clinic. Stephen explained that they couldn't make it to the clinic because they couldn't even reach the bathroom in their room due to how sick they felt.
He called again later in the day and pleaded with the staff, who finally sent wheelchairs to transport them to the clinic.
"We had to plead again with the medical center to send somebody because it was clear we weren't getting better," he explained.
The family was then taken to the hospital, where Stephen's wife, April, and their eight-year-old son, Oliver, died from secondary causes related to food poisoning.
"Coming home was very hard," Gougeon said. "Living life without them is extremely hard."
The $10 million lawsuit accuses Wyndham of failing "to provide a timely response to the family's call for help." It also claims the resort was negligent in handling and preparing the food served at the buffet.
"I think what the Gougeon family would like is accountability," the family's lawyer, Meghan Hull Jacquin, said. "They're trying to make something good out of this horrific tragedy that they've been through and continue to live with every day."