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Guelph Dental Settlement Overview:
- Who: Anyone who received dental care at Guelph Dental Associates.
- Why: Patients treated at the facility may have been at risk of contracting hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, or bacterial infections.
- Where: Ontario
A judge in the Superior Court of Ontario has approved a class action settlement resolving claims that patients treated at Guelph Dental Associates may have been exposed to a number of viral and bacterial infections due to improper tool sterilization.
Katelyn and Megan Lowe and their guardian sued Guelph Dental, owned and operated by Dr. Meikle Dentistry Professional Corp. and Dental Corp. of Canada Inc., in 2017.
A child who was treated by a dental hygienist at Guelph Dental contracted a bacterial infection, and subsequently, on June 20, 2017, Guelph Public Health inspected the clinic and found a number of concerns surrounding infection prevention and control practices, according to court documents.
After the clinic allegedly failed to take measures, Public Health Ontario performed a risk assessment and advised that patients at Guelph Dental were at risk of hepatitis B and C, HIV, and bacterial infections due to the improper practices.
Public Health Ontario recommended the clinic close until equipment could be reprocessed, and notified potentially affected patients that the dental instruments at the clinic had not been properly sterilized, according to court documents.
The Class is made up of all persons, or their estates, who received dental care and services at the dental clinic formerly at 380 Eramosa Road in Guelph, Ontario — known as Guelph Dental Associates — between Jan. 21, 2015, and June 21, 2017.
Eligible Non-Infected Class Members — those who tested negative for hepatitis B or C or HIV between June 30, 2017, and June 30, 2018, is eligible to receive $500 in compensation.
These Class Members must submit proof in the form of a doctor’s note or supporting lab confirmation that actual testing was obtained for these infections during that period.
Eligible Infected Class Members — those who tested positive for hepatitis B or C or HIV between June 30, 2017, and June 30, 2018 will receive $75,000 in compensation.
These Class Members must submit proof that he or she tested positive for one of those infections.
The deadline for these claims will be 120 days from the publication/dissemination of the settlement claim notice.
If the Class Member’s initial test was positive for hepatitis C, they must also furnish evidence they tested positive on a PCR test no later than the date the Class Member filed their claim.
If the Class Member contracted hepatitis B, hepatitis C, or HIV, they must provide evidence satisfactory to the claims administrator that they contracted it at Guelph Dental.
Were you treated at Dr. Meikle Dentistry Professional Corp.? What do you think of the settlement? Let us know in the comments below.
The plaintiffs are represented by Gordeon Marsden.
The Dr. Meikle Dentistry Class Action Lawsuit is Lowe, et al. v. Dr. Meikle Dentistry Professional Corp., Court File No. CV-17-579325 in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
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