The class-action suit launched after a&nbsp;hospital-wide strip search of patients at the East Coast Forensic Hospital in Dartmouth, N.S.,&nbsp;in 2012&nbsp;has reached a proposed settlement.

33 forensic psychiatry patients who were strip-searched on Oct. 16, 2012

, will be entitled to $5,000 each, according to law firm behind the lawsuit. It was&nbsp;filed in 2013 against Capital Health, which is now part of the Nova Scotia Health Authority.

The class-action suit was certified in 2015 after Justice&nbsp;Denise Boudreau said&nbsp;administrators in facilities such as the forensic hospital need to be able to control their operations, but that strip searches are highly intrusive.

The searches were initiated, according to&nbsp;Boudreau's decision, following a sequence of events that led to increased concerns that illegal substances were being brought into the hospital.

According to a press release from Valent Legal, the firm representing the class members, "it is alleged that the decision to strip search&nbsp;all patients was done without reasonable grounds and thereby in breach of their Charter rights."

The settlement must be approved by a Supreme Court of Nova Scotia judge before the class members receive their payment.

A hearing is scheduled for March 23&nbsp;in Halifax.

Lionel Desmond looked 'like a normal guy' as he bought a gun to kill his family: psychiatrist

Psychiatrist Faisal Rahman analyzed the demeanour of an Afghanistan combat veteran as a video of him buying the rifle he would use to kill himself and his family played at an inquiry into their deaths.

On Jan. 3, 2017, Lionel Desmond shot his daughter, mother, wife and then himself in a home in Upper Big Tracadie. A fatality inquiry will look at the support services available to the Afghanistan war veteran. 

Lionel Desmond inquiry photo illustration

A doctor who treated Lionel Desmond in the days before he killed himself and his family in Upper Big Tracadie, N.S., testified at the fatality inquiry Wednesday.

Psychiatrist questioned about 'red flags' before Lionel Desmond's release from hospital, inquiry hears

The psychiatrist assigned to Lionel Desmond when he turned up at the emergency room in distress is being questioned today at a fatality inquiry about why the veteran was released from hospital a day before he killed himself and three members of his family.

The second day of the fatality inquiry into the deaths of a former soldier and his family resumes today.

Desmond inquiry

The Desmond fatality inquiry has heard from the psychiatrist who saw Lionel Desmond two days before he shot his family and then himself.

School trophies tossed in trash by principal in Advocate Harbour, N.S.

A school principal in Cumberland County, N.S., is being criticized for throwing her school's athletic trophies and plaques into a dumpster.

These trophies and plaques from Advocate District School in Advocate Harbour, N.S., were found in this garbage bag inside a dumpster on the school grounds.

School principal tosses school trophies in trash Image 1

Why Nova Scotians shouldn't expect car insurance premiums to go down any time soon

While the number of car accidents in Nova Scotia remains steady, vehicle insurance premiums are rising significantly because the cost of repairing modern vehicles is skyrocketing.

Car lot

While the number of car accidents in Nova Scotia remains steady, vehicle insurance premiums are rising significantly because the cost of repairing modern vehicles is skyrocketing.

The future is now: how exoskeletons are changing Canada's construction industry

Exoskeletons allow workers to do some jobs faster and with less strain on their bodies. The hope is this technology will attract younger workers and allow older employees to stay on the job longer, easing the construction industry's labour shortage.

This next generation exoskeleton called the Guardian XO is a motorized exoskeleton that enhances its users strength and endurance. It is expected to be on the market commercially by the end of this year. 

Sarcos Robotics Guardian XO

A Freschco.ca worker wears an exoskeleton while using a chipper to clear tiles off a wall. 

Freshco.ca exoskeleton

The settlement must be approved by a Supreme Court of Nova Scotia judge before class members receive their payment.

Class action over forensic hospital strip searches reaches proposed settlement

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