— A court has approved a settlement of nearly $1.3 million in a class-action lawsuit against a New Brunswick hospital over the use of unsterilized biopsy forceps on women over a 14-year period. Lawyer Ray Wagner said individual payments will be between $350 and $1,000, depending on the number of women who submit claims. In 2013, the Miramichi Regional Hospital urged the affected women to get tested for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV after discovering the problem. Documents obtained in 2014 under access-to-information laws showed that health authority officials deliberated for three months about whether to inform the public about the unsterilized forceps. McGarry urged the affected women to be tested, but stressed that the risk of infection was extremely low, even without sterilization.

Source: National Post March 20, 2018 17:48 UTC