Jean-Benoit Legault, THE CANADIAN PRESS

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MONTREAL - Survivors and the families of people who died during outbreaks of C. difficile at a hospital near Montreal are seeking permission to sue the institution for up to $10 million.

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THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter McCabe

Sylvie Dorion (left) of Beloeil, Que., listens to her lawyer Jean-Pierre Menard speak at a press conference concerning a class-action suit against Honoré-Mercier Hospital in St-Hyacinthe, over the C-difficile outbreak.

Sixteen patients died of C. difficile at the Honore-Mercier Hospital in St-Hyacinthe between May and November of 2006.

About 70 people contracted the bacterial infection during two outbreaks.

Lawyer Jean-Pierre Menard said Thursday that he has filed a class-action suit against the hospital on behalf of the sister of one victim as well as the Association to Defend Victims of Nosocomial Infections, an advocacy group for those stricken by hospital-acquired infections.

The court, meanwhile, has yet to approve the lawsuit.

Menard argues the hospital didn't take prevention measures seriously and said administrators were negligent and incompetent.

"The management and the administration at the hospital had been informed numerous times since 2005," Menard told a news conference in Montreal.

"They were warned there was a risk that the number of cases (of C. difficile) would increase."

Menard said the hospital's actions showed a flippancy towards the burgeoning problem and a lack of concern he described as incomprehensible.

The Honore-Mercier Hospital declined to comment Thursday.

C. difficile is a common bacterial infection in hospitals but it can be especially deadly in people weakened by illness.

It has been linked to an estimated 2,000 deaths in Quebec since 2003.

Quebec coroner Catherine Rudel-Tessier conducted an investigation into the deaths and found the hospital's administration partly to blame for failing to prevent the spread of the infections.

Rudel-Tessier said the C. difficile outbreaks directly contributed to the deaths of four patients and led to a deterioration in the health of 12 others who eventually died.

Sylvie Dorion, whose sister Marie-Andree died after contracting C. difficile while in hospital for minor surgery, is the lead plaintiff in the suit.

Dorion recalled the suffering her sister endured before her death.

"She would tense up (in pain) while she was in a coma," Dorion said.

Dorion said she was outraged that she did not receive an apology or explanation from hospital administration.

She also condemned the attitude of former hospital director-general Denis Blanchard, who blamed subordinates during the coroner's investigation, and said that people must "stop living in the past."

"In the past, I had my sister with me and in the present, I'm all alone," Dorion said.

Menard said he would seek $50,000 in moral damages for each person infected with C. difficile and $25,000 in exemplary damages.

He said those who underwent surgery after contracting the bacteria could be entitled to more money, as would the families of victims who died.

Menard said as many as 100 people could be entitled to a claim and the total amount of money sought could range between $5 million and $10 million.