Settlement Reached In Developmental Facilities Lawsuit

A tentative settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit that alleged abuse and neglect at Woodstock’s former Oxford Regional Centre and 11 other Ontario institutions for people with developmental disabilities.

The suit, which was granted class action status in August of 2015, alleged abuses committed against plaintiffs at the following facilities:

• Oxford Mental Health Centre (Woodstock), between January 1, 1969 and March 31, 1974
• Oxford Regional Centre (Woodstock), between April 1, 1974 and March 31, 1996
• Adult Occupational Centre (Edgar), between January 1, 1966 and March 31, 1999
• Bluewater Centre (Goderich), between April 1, 1976 and December 20, 1983
• D'Arcy Place (Cobourg), between September 1, 1963 and December 31, 1996
• Durham Centre for the Developmentally Handicapped (Whitby), between April 1, 1974 and September 28, 1986
• L.S. Penrose Centre (Kingston), between April 1, 1974 and March 31, 1977
• Midwestern Regional Centre (Palmerston), between September 1, 1963 and March 31, 1998
• Muskoka Centre (Gravenhurst), between August 28, 1973 and June 30, 1993
• Northwestern Regional Centre (Thunder Bay), between April 1, 1974 and March 31, 1994
• Pine Ridge Centre (Aurora), between September 1, 1963 and August 31, 1984
• Prince Edward Heights (Picton), between January 1, 1971 and December 31, 1999
• St. Lawrence Regional Centre (Brockville), between April 1, 1975 and June 30, 1983.

If approved by the court, the settlement will see those plaintiffs able to access a settlement fund that totals $36-million.

In 2013, the province awarded survivors of three similar institutions $67.7-million. Compensation funds were made available to former residents of the Rideau Regional Centre, the Huronia Regional Center and the Southwestern Regional Centre in Chatham-Kent.

The attention garnered by that settlement brought other plaintiffs forward, Jody Brown of the Koskie Minsky Law Firm told BlackburnNews.com in August.

“The allegations are similar to the other three; there was systemic under staffing that led to abuse, along with allegations that there wasn’t proper abuse prevention policies implemented that led to harm,” Brown said at the time.

Ontario Attorney General Madeleine Meilleur says the tentative agreement is a "step to address a painful chapter of our province’s history."

 

**with files from Ashton Patis**