One year after quadriplegic Quebec man chose assisted death, lawyers are preparing class action

lawyer aThe widow of a quadriplegic Quebec man is preparing to file a class-action lawsuit against the province after the 66-year-old requested medical assistance in dying He suffered severe bedsores after a hospital stay last year.

Normand Meunier arrived at the emergency room of the Saint-Jérôme hospital with a respiratory virus in January 2024. Will come out only after a few weeks With bedsores after spending four days on a stretcher without access to a special pressure mattress.

On March 4, Meunier requested medical assistance in dying (MAID). He died a few weeks later on 29 March.

His death made headlines across the province and advocates say they don’t want it to happen to anyone else.

The announcement of the possible lawsuit comes a day after Quebec The coroner released a report on Meunier’s death. And called on the province’s health officials to do better.

Moël Épinier et Motricité Québec (MEMO-QC), an advocacy group for people with disabilities, especially those with spinal cord injuries, held a press conference on Wednesday with Patrick Martin-Ménard, a lawyer representing Meunier’s partner Sylvie Brosseau.

Meunier’s story is “absolutely horrifying,” Martin-Maynard said.

He says Brosseau took a number of steps after his partner’s death “for the sole purpose of ensuring that a story like this never happens again.”

Martin-Maynard says the potential class action would be for people like Meunier, who were hospitalized without access to a therapeutic mattress and later developed pressure sores.

“This is not an isolated case,” he said, adding that his law firm continues to receive calls from people who have experienced very similar cases in the health system.

Brosseau also intends to launch a lawsuit for damages and the lawyer said a formal notice will be sent to Saint-Jérôme Hospital and Sainte Quebec. Martin-Maynard said they would try to settle the suit out of court.

‘They didn’t listen to me,’ recalls the widow.

Brosseau took a deep breath before speaking to reporters Wednesday.

She says attending the coroner’s inquest was an emotional, long and complex experience. But it was Meunier’s choice to make this story public.

Speaking to Radio-Canada the day before his death, Meunier said that the pressure wound on his buttocks had grown to such an extent that bones and muscles were exposed, after which he preferred to end his physical and psychological suffering.

Recalling her experience in the emergency room in January, Brosseau described how, as a caregiver, “I felt like I didn’t exist, like I didn’t know anything.”

“They didn’t listen to me,” he said.

Brosseau and the organization praised the work of coroner Dave Kimpton and called on the government to implement the 31 recommendations included in the report published on Tuesday.

Kimpton highlights the need for guaranteed and quick access to therapeutic mattresses for spinal cord injury patients.

“Analysis of his medical history shows that all of the injuries identified arose or worsened during his hospitalization,” Kimpton wrote.

He said Meunier’s stay in the hospital’s emergency room on a stretcher without a special mattress for four days was due to the hospital being overcrowded.

In a statement following the coroner’s report, the CISSS des Laurentides says it received the recommendations with “great openness and a firm commitment to continuing the reform measures already taken since Mr. Meunier’s death.”

Following the announcement of the two potential lawsuits, the local health authority said in an emailed statement that it was not in a position to comment at this stage.

“However, we reiterate that our teams are proactive and vigilant in improving our practices,” the statement said.