Hospital alleges its floors aren't flat, files $100M lawsuit against builder
Humber River Health is suing the consortium contracted to build and maintain its Toronto hospital for $100 million, alleging that negligent design and construction is creating health and safety problems for patients and staff.
The lawsuit, filed in early April, alleges that a "sizable portion" of the hospital's floors are not level or flat and that some of the flooring itself is deteriorating.
"Floor levelness is a critical operational and safety issue," reads Humber River Health's claim, filed in Ontario Superior Court.
"Non-level floors make it difficult for staff to move equipment, supplies, food, and patients on wheeled transportation devices. Often, wheeled carts have to be placed behind rubber stoppers to prevent the carts from sliding out of position."
The statement of claim goes on to say that the floor conditions "have led, and will continue to lead, to health and safety issues" for patients and staff. It also says that durability problems with the floors are having a major operational impact as "critical rooms" and areas of the hospital have been unavailable because of maintenance.
Touted as North America's first fully digital hospital, construction on Humber River Hospital began in 2011 and it opened in October 2015. The facility was built through a public-private partnership with Plenary Health Care Partnerships. The Ontario government contracted Plenary to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the hospital for 30 years.
WATCH | Why this hospital is suing the consortium that built it:
Toronto hospital sues builder for $100M claiming uneven floors create safety issues
19 minutes ago
Duration 2:15
In a statement, Humber River Health spokesperson Joe Gorman said the hospital is "implementing all necessary measures to ensure the best experience for our patients, staff and community" while it works to resolve these problems.
Plenary Health Care Partnerships hasn't filed a statement of defence yet. Due to contractual obligations, the consortium told CBC Toronto it couldn't comment.
Not the first lawsuit
The floor lawsuit is the latest in a series of claims filed in the last couple of years concerning alleged issues with the design and construction of the northwest Toronto hospital. Since 2023, four other lawsuits totalling at least $10.4 million have been filed by Plenary Health Care Partnerships against the contractor and various subcontractors hired to design and build the hospital.
The claims are looking for compensation for property damage from flooding caused by valve and breaker leaks and for design flaws with its domestic water system, which affected hot and cold water in patient rooms within the first year the hospital opened, according to the court filings. The leaks included one above the ceiling of the hospital's cancer care unit.
The contractor and subcontractors have filed statements of defence in some of those lawsuits. They deny the allegations and any liability claimed by the consortium.
Two of the lawsuits concerning leaks and issues with the water system have spawned third-party claims from the subcontractors being sued claiming another third-party subcontractor should be held liable in their place if the courts determine damages are warranted, which they deny.
CBC Toronto contacted Ontario's Ministry of Health for comment on whether it is concerned about these alleged construction and design issues with a public hospital that is just 10 years old and on the impact the problems are having on hospital operations and patient care.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
36 minutes ago
- CTV News
‘We lost everything': Sask. woman watches community burn through home camera footage
Some wildfire evacuees in Saskatchewan had no choice but to sleep in their cars as communities struggle to find shelter for them. Allison Bamford reports.
Calgary Herald
37 minutes ago
- Calgary Herald
Oxford Properties takes over seven office towers in Calgary and Vancouver business districts
Article content Oxford Properties, a Canadian investor in real estate and property management, has bought out seven downtown office towers in Calgary and Vancouver's business districts. Article content In a news release shared Tuesday, the Toronto-based company announced that it had bought out Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board's 50 per cent interest in the office properties for $730 million, leaving it with full ownership of the $1.5-billion portfolio. Article content Article content In Calgary, that includes the 25-storey Eau Claire Tower (611,000 sq. ft), Centennial Place (1.3 million sq. ft), 400 Third (820,000 sq. ft) and The Stack (558,000 sq. ft). In Vancouver, the company would own the Guinness Tower (262,000 sq. ft), Marine building (177,000 sq. ft) and the MNP Tower (277,000 sq. ft), amounting to a four million square foot portfolio. Article content Article content Five of the seven properties were built after 2010, with only 400 Third and Centennial Place built in 1988 and 2010, respectively. Article content The move is a reversal of the company's longtime previous practices to dispose of office assets. Article content 'Oxford has been a net seller of office for over a decade to achieve portfolio diversification. We believe now is an opportune time to rotate capital back into this asset class, and this portfolio ticks all the right boxes,' said Tyler Seaman, the company's executive vice-president. Article content 'As the asset and property manager of this portfolio, this transaction represents a compelling opportunity for us to further invest in markets that we not only understand intimately, but in buildings where our teams have built great relationships with our customers and where we consistently use this advantage to outperform the market.' Article content
CBC
37 minutes ago
- CBC
Red Dress Alert program must be in place by May 2026, says report from organization leading project
Social Sharing All levels of government must act quickly to establish a notification system within the next year that would help find missing Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people in Manitoba, the organization spearheading the project says. A Red Dress Alert would prompt notifications to the public whenever an Indigenous woman, girl or two-spirit person goes missing, as an Amber Alert does now for missing children. Giganawenimaanaanig, the Manitoba committee implementing calls for justice from the national MMIWG inquiry, released an interim report on Tuesday detailing the development of the program, which started after Manitoba MP Leah Gazan put forth a motion in Parliament in 2023 to fund an alert system. Survivors and family members, along with leadership and representatives from First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities, attended 29 engagement sessions held as of January throughout the province, in both rural and urban communities, the report says. Participants in the engagement sessions stressed the "extreme urgency" of establishing an effective notification system, the report says, and Giganawenimaanaanig is now calling on all three levels of government to get the program running by May 2026 at the latest. "Every day that the Red Dress Alert is not implemented is a day that someone could go missing," project lead Denise Cook said at a Tuesday news conference. A public survey is currently being conducted for those who were unable to attend the engagement sessions, with over 1,000 responses received in the month of May alone, said Sandra DeLaronde, the chair of Giganawenimaanaanig. The program will differ from existing notification systems, since it will be guided by those families and communities, DeLaronde said. "This alert is really going to be built on their words," she said at the news conference. "When a Red Dress Alert saves a life, it's because of all the people who provided their ideas, thoughts and opinions on how this should be done in a good way." The alert system will also need a co-operative and co-ordinated effort across jurisdictions and agencies to keep tabs on youth who've run away from foster care, as well as those experiencing gender-based violence, housing insecurity and/or human trafficking, the report says. The next steps are to meet with those agencies, said Cook. Participants in the engagement sessions overwhelmingly said that they are "not being listened to, not being taken seriously, not being given the resources or the time that they need from those service providers that are there — that are supposed to be there but are not there," said Cook. "There are gaps, and we recognize that individuals and systems do not necessarily … perform in the way that they should be, but it's so significant in the Indigenous community," she said. "A lot of communities have been left to do what they can with what they have." The alert system's success will depend on all Manitobans, said Cook. Evacuees 'vulnerable and targeted' The program is also making considerations for people who go missing after travelling to an urban centre from a remote or northern community, and those who may be vulnerable after leaving a hospital or other institution that's far from their home, the report says. It's something that hits close to home, said DeLaronde, as thousands are currently evacuated from northern Manitoba communities due to wildfires. "People told us that when they were evacuated, they were in fact vulnerable and targeted" in larger urban centres, DeLaronde said. While planning for the alert system continues, DeLaronde said more patrols in and around hotels and evacuation sites, as well as a response line to call if someone goes missing, are ways to help keep those fleeing fires safe. At a separate news conference, Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson said her organization is looking at addressing safety concerns in spaces where displaced people are staying, and is working to bring in wraparound support for those forced from their homes. "We know that these sites are now a target for predators, for human traffickers, for drug dealers," she said. Participants said there's no single technique or technology for an alert system to reach everyone, but they'd want it to be more than just a way to distribute missing persons reports, which can desensitize the public with frequent use, the Giganawenimaanaanig interim report says. Clear criteria for the notification system must be widely publicized, participants said, and expectations of how police and other government agencies should respond to cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, must also be written into law to ensure accountability, it says. A final report on the Red Dress Alert program's engagement sessions, with recommendations, is expected to be released in October. Extreme urgency' for MMIWG alerts: report 1 hour ago Duration 2:03 The Manitoba team working on a provincewide Red Dress Alert system will meet with police, child welfare agencies and sports groups. The Red Dress Alert would prompt notifications to the public whenever an Indigenous woman, girl or two-spirit person goes missing, as an Amber Alert does now for missing children.
