MUHC superhospital target of lawsuit over noisy ventilators

Residents complaining about noise coming from the new MUHC superhospital could soon join a class-action suit against the health centre. 

Lawyers are seeking authorization from the courts to pursue the class action.

• MUHC contractor vows to curb noisy ventilators
• Westmount residents call MUHC superhospital noise a nuisance
• SNC-Lavalin offered Westmount resident earmuffs for MUHC noise

Marc Felgar, who lives nearby on York Street in Westmount, said the noise coming from the building's ventilation system has affected his family's quality of life.

"We have to keep our windows closed," said Felgar, a member of the group Neighbours of the Glen Campus.

"The noise is constant. It's 24/seven. It's there in the morning, it's the afternoon, it's the evening. It's there when we're sleeping. We don't eat out on our back deck."

He said members have made their complaints clear in meetings with the MUHC and the company which built the hospital, SNC-Lavalin.

But Felgar says nothing has been done to mitigate the noise. Now, lawyers are involved.

Catherine Sylvestre, who is pursuing the class-action lawsuit, said close to 3,000 people living around the hospital could be affected.

Sylvestre said the claimants are demanding $5,000 per year. But she said it's not about the money.

"We hope that the problem will be fixed as soon as possible and that the damages will stop there," she said.

In a statement, the MUHC said it was working on the problem. It said "major work to the main ventilation ducts and several parts of the air extraction system" were conducted in January.

"There is nothing more important to the MUHC than the health and wellbeing of its patients and their families, as well as the community as a whole," the statement said.

A spokesperson for SNC-Lavalin said the company is reviewing the lawsuit.