By Roger White

NB water contamination class action suit certified

Apr 13, 2017 | 2:00 PM

The Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench has approved a $3.3 million settlement between the City of North Battleford, the Province of Saskatchewan and the Infant Class (under 18-years-old) relating to the cryptosporidium outbreak in North Battleford in March and April of 2001.

In 2001, the parasite cryptosporidium was leaked into the North Battleford drinking water causing an estimated 5,800 to 7,100 residents to fall ill in the Battlefords area. There were no deaths caused by the contamination, however the city was under a boil water advisory for an extended period of time.

“It’s been a long negotiation and we are finally glad we got to this point, said Brad Jamieson of Cuelenaere, Kendall, Katzman & Watson, who is representing the Infant Class in the case. “Litigating this would have been a huge undertaking, which means we would have basically had to re-do the inquiry again, so it was in everyone’s best interest to come to a negotiated settlement.”

In April 2003, a class action suit was started in regards to the contamination and as a result nearly 700 individuals reach an out of court settlement on August 21, 2003.  Another 100 people settled in November of 2003 in a second claim that was filed by a second law firm. As a result that action was discontinued.

“My guess is that once those 800 plaintiffs settled the defendants thought everything was resolved,” said Jamieson. ”Then we showed up representing the Infant class and the adults and said ‘no’ there are others involved and the limitations do not apply especially to the children.”

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Individuals have until May 25, 2017 to opt-out of the settlement and until November 25, 2017 to file a claim.

“The commission of inquiry estimates that between 5,000 to 7,000 people who got sick,” Jamieson added.  “Obviously this [settlement] just concerns the Infant Class, so we could be looking at 1,500 that could fall under this category that will be compensated now.”

The amount of compensation each claimant receives will depend on the severity of the individual’s illness.

“Some individuals who were sick but did not go to the doctor and cannot really prove their claim will get around $750,” Jamieson noted. “If you did see a doctor you could be eligible for between $1,250 to $10,000 in compensation, however the likelihood of paying out $10,000 is highly unlikely.”

Jamieson added that once the deadline for claims has passed on November 25 and the insurer has finished issuing cheques, the firm can begin negotiating on behalf of the adults in the case.

“We hope to begin proceedings in January 2018 and we feel since this has been on-going since 2001. It’s in everyone’s best interest to get it over with within a year or two.”

roger.white@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNow