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.

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Marc Felgar, wholives nearby on York Street in Westmount,saidthe 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 thegroup Neighbours of the Glen Campus.

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

He saidmembers 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 theclass-action lawsuit,saidclose to 3,000 people living around the hospital could be affected.

Sylvestre saidthe claimants are demanding $5,000 per year.But she saidit'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 MUHCsaid 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 itspatients and their families, as well as the community as a whole," the statement said.

A spokesperson forSNC-Lavalinsaid the company is reviewing the lawsuit.