A $2.375-million-class action lawsuit related to diluted chemotherapy drugs is getting the approval of Windsor Justice Gregory Verbeem.
The settlement dishes out $1.8-million to the nearly 1,200 patients affected by the diluted drugs who didn't opt-out of the class action suit — it works out to about $1,500 per person.
A further $400,000 is to be paid by the defendants to cover legal fees for those pursuing the lawsuit while $100,000 will be paid to the Ontario and New Brunswick health insurers.
"I'm surprised we're getting anything to tell you the truth," said former patient Kate Warner when she heard the news.'
Almost 300 patients at Windsor Regional Hospital and nearly 700 at Lodnon Health Science Centre were affected.
"Seventy people...were not able to get up every morning. Ther're the ones I feel bad for. I think they deserve much more than $1,500."
Warner says the ruling brings some closure, but she will always question the treatment she receives moving forward.
"It's kept the fear going and until it's all over, we'll always have to think about it. It's a reminder every day that we got bad chemo."
Seventy of the 300 patients in Windsor have since passed away.
The dilution issue dates back to February 2012.
An investigation found the dilution happened when Marchese Hospital Solutions didn't account for an "overflow factor" when preparing the chemotherapy drugs — leading to 10% less of the active ingredient than advertised. Pre-filled bags of saline used to mixed in with the drugs are overfilled to compensate for evaporation, but MHS used the saline on the basis the volume stated on the labels was the precise amount needed.
