Lachine Hospital – Improperly Sterilized Instrument(s) – Class Action

Date of Initial Application: July 29, 2014

On June 1, 2016, the Superior Court of Quebec approved the settlement in this file.

A copy of the Settlement Approval Judgment is available on this page.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE ATTENTIVELY SINCE YOUR RIGHTS AND RECOURSES MAY BE AFFECTED BY A PROPOSED SETTLEMENT

Without any admission of wrongdoing or liability on the part of the respondent the Lachine Hospital, the parties have reached an agreement to settle this class action.

The advantages conferred upon the class members and set out in the settlement agreement may be summarized as follows, subject to withholdings by the Fonds d’aide aux recours collectifs:

– Each Class Member who underwent a Blood Test that did not diagnose any illness and who advised the Lachine Hospital of these results will receive $500.

– Each Class Member who, because of the date of their surgery, had to undergo a second Blood Test that did not diagnose any illness and who advised the Lachine Hospital of these results, will receive an additional compensation of $250.

– A Class Member who can establish that he or she underwent a Blood Test between April 1, and July 29, 2014 at a private clinic or at another medical facility that did not diagnose an illness and who did not advise the Lachine Hospital of these results will be entitled to $500.

– A Class Member who can establish that because of the date of his or her surgery, he or she underwent a second Blood Test between June 1, 2014 and September 30, 2014 that did not diagnose an illness and who did not advise the Lachine Hospital of these results will receive an additional compensation of $250.

The complete terms of the settlement agreement and of the notices to class members are available on this page.

This settlement agreement will be submitted to the Honourable Justice Guylène Beaugé of the Superior Court of Québec on May 27, 2016, at 9:30 a.m., in Room 15.07 of the Montreal Courthouse, 1 Notre-Dame Street East, Montreal, Québec, for her approval. Justice Beaugé will also be asked to authorize the class action solely for the purpose of approving the settlement agreement.

You have nothing to do if you wish to be bound by the settlement and the eventual judgment of the Court approving same.

Objection Process

If you wish to contest the approval of this settlement agreement, you must submit a signed objection notice on or before May 20, 2016 at the latest. Your notice must briefly state your name, contact information, the reasons behind your objection, whether you intend to be present at the court hearing on May 27, 2016, and if you intend to be represented by independent counsel (providing the name and contact information of said counsel if known).

Opt-out Process

If you wish to opt-out of the settlement of this class action, you must submit a signed opt-out notice (by mail, fax or e-mail) by July 6, 2016. This notice MUST include the following information:

• Your full legal name; and
• Your full home address; and
• Your telephone number(s); and
• Your e-mail address (optional); and
• Specifically confirm that your wish to “opt-out from the Lachine Hospital Bariatric Surgery Class Action Settlement” (or other equivalent language).

If you opt-out from the settlement, you will not be eligible to receive the benefits mentioned above. If you opt-out, you should be aware that there are strictly enforced time limits within which you must take formal legal action to pursue your claim. By opting out, you will take full responsibility for taking all necessary legal steps to protect your claim.

These notices must be sent to the attorney acting on behalf of the class, Mtre David Assor, at:

Mtre David Assor

Lex Group Inc.

4101 Sherbrooke Street West

Westmount, QC, H3Z 1A7

Email: [email protected]

Fax: (514) 875-8218

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

LEX GROUP Inc. has launched and is pursuing a class action on behalf of all persons who underwent a surgical procedure at the Lachine Hospital wherein one or many of the instruments used in the said procedure were not properly sterilized, and who were sent a letter from Lachine Hospital in or around April 2014 confirming that the cleaning process of said instrument(s) used during the surgical procedure was incomplete.

In fact, a liver retractor which has multiple moving parts and/or sections, was improperly cleaned, leaving behind incrusted blood and/or other human tissue and fluid from previous patients. As a result, patients may have contracted diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis B or C, which could have been avoided had the Lachine Hospital properly completed the cleaning process of the instruments used during their surgeries.

If you underwent a surgical procedure at the Lachine Hospital wherein one or many of the instruments used in the said procedure were not properly sterilized, you may be included in this class action, and you may be entitled to compensation should the case be successful in the future by way of final judgment or settlement approved by the Court.

If you wish to be kept informed and/or receive notification of major judgments rendered or notices in this case, please complete the form below.  Please note that providing your information in the form below creates no financial obligation for you and it does not create a lawyer/client relationship between yourself and Lex Group Inc. (or any of its attorneys).  You will not be charged any fees or costs for signing up to this class action since our firm is only paid on a contingency basis from the potential compensation recovered in this file, if the class action is successful by way of final judgment or settlement approved by the Court.  Please be advised that the group definition of the people to be included in this class action may be changed or modified in the future by Court decision or by way of amendment filed by our firm.  We will not inform you or other members of the public if and when the group definition is changed.  It is therefore your sole responsibility to ensure that your own personal rights and recourses are being protected at all times during the course of these proceedings.  You may therefore wish to seek independent legal counsel in order to determine whether it would be in your best interest to pursue independent litigation in this matter (or any other matter), and to determine if you can potentially be included in this case if a final judgment is rendered or if a settlement is reached and approved by the Court.  By signing up to this class action, you are merely asking our firm to include you in our list of potential members in this class action but our firm is not agreeing to represent your personal interests.  If a final judgment is rendered in this case, or if a settlement is reached (and approved by the Court), an e-mail may be sent to you and the relevant information may be posted on this website.  The Court will determine the manner and extent of any future notifications to class members.

Be advised that the information you provide will be included in our list of potential class members for this case, which list may be shared with and disclosed to the Courts and/or other parties in this action (at our discretion).  Rest assured that any such disclosure will be done in such a manner as to protect your personal information and confidentiality from unauthorized use, disclosure or publication.

Finally, be advised that the above-description and summary of the case is being posted on this website for your convenience.  However, in case of conflict between the information on this website and the actual proceedings, documents, and/or judgments in the Court record of this case, the official Court record documents will prevail.  We have for your convenience posted on this webpage certain scanned copies of the several relevant documents from the Court record, including the initial motion to authorize the bringing of the class action which describes the case in much more detail.  You should therefore consult these documents as well as consult this website periodically in order to be kept informed.