Year after quadriplegic Quebec man chose assisted dying, advocates prepare class action

Advocates and the widow woman of a quadriplegic quebec city adult male ar preparing to register a class-action lawsuit against the province after the 66-year-old requested medical assistance in dying following a hospital stay last year that left him with a severe bedsore.

Normand Meunier arrived at the emergency room at Saint-Jérôme Hospital in January 2024 with a respiratory virus only to emerge weeks later with a bedsore after spending four days on a stretcher without access to a special pressure mattress.

On March 4, Meunier requested medical assistance in dying (MAID). He died a few weeks later on March 29.

His death made headlines across the province and advocates say they don't want this to happen to anyone else.

The announcement of a potential lawsuit comes a day after a Quebec coroner released a report into Meunier’s death and called on the province's health authorities to do better. 

Moelle épinière et motricité Québec (MÉMO-Qc), an advocacy group for people with disabilities, particularly those with spinal cord injuries, held a news conference Wednesday alongside Patrick Martin-Ménard, the lawyer representing Meunier's partner, Sylvie Brosseau. 

Meunier's story is "absolutely horrifying," said Martin-Ménard.

He says Brosseau took several steps after her partner's death with "the sole objective to make sure a story like this doesn't happen again."

The potential class action will be for people like Meunier who have been hospitalized without access to a therapeutic mattress and later developed pressure sores, says Martin-Ménard.

“This is not an isolated case,” he said, adding that his law firm continues to receive calls from people who have experienced very similar cases in the health system. 

Brosseau also has the intention of initiating a lawsuit for damages and the lawyer said a formal notice will be sent to the St-Jérôme Hospital and to Santé Québec. Martin-Ménard said they will attempt to settle the lawsuit out of court. 

Brosseau took a deep breath before speaking to reporters Wednesday.

She says participating in the coroner's inquiry was an emotional, long and complicated experience. But making this story public was Meunier's choice.

Speaking with Radio-Canada the day before his death, Meunier said he preferred putting an end to his physical and psychological suffering after the pressure sore on his buttocks worsened to the point where bone and muscle were exposed.

Recalling her experience at the emergency room in January Brosseau recalled how, as a caregiver, "it was like I didn't even exist, like I didn't know anything."

"They didn't listen to me," she said.

Brosseau and the organization applauded coroner Dave Kimpton's work and called on the government to implement the 31 recommendations included in the report, published Tuesday.

Kimpton highlighted the need for guaranteed and prompt access to a therapeutic mattress for patients with spinal cord injuries. 

"An analysis of his medical history reveals that all the identified injuries emerged or worsened during hospitalizations," wrote Kimpton.

He said that Meunier's four-day stay on a stretcher in the hospital’s emergency room without access to a special mattress was due to hospital overcapacity.  

In a statement following the coroner's report, the CISSS des Laurentides says it received the recommendations with "great openness and a firm commitment to continue the improvement measures already undertaken since Mr. Meunier's death."

Following the announcement of the two potential lawsuits, the local health authority said in an emailed statement that it is not in a position to comment at this stage.

"We reiterate, however, that our teams are mobilized and mindful with bringing improvements to our practices," reads the statement.

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