Toronto Hospital Files Flooring Lawsuit Against Builder

Humber River Health is suing the public-private partnership consortium contracted to build and maintain its hospital.

The lawsuit, filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in April, claims $100 million in damages for faulty design and construction of the facility’s flooring. Specifically, it cites that a “sizable portion” of the hospital’s floors are not level or flat, and in some areas the flooring is deteriorating only 10 years after the hospital was completed in 2015.

Humber River Health says in the claim that uneven flooring is both a critical operational and health and safety issue for patients and staff.

“Non-level floors make it difficult for staff to move equipment, supplies, food and patients on wheeled transportation devices. Often, wheeled carts have to be placed behind rubber stoppers to prevent the carts from sliding out of position,” reads Humber River Health’s claim.

It also says that durability problems with the floors are having a major operational impact as “critical rooms” and areas of the hospital have been unavailable because of maintenance.

The flooring lawsuit is not the first filed by Plenary Health Care Partnerships against the contractor and various subcontractors contracted by the Ontario government. Since 2023, there have been four other claims totalling at least $10.4 million.

According to court filings, these claims are related to property damage from flooding caused by valve and breaker leaks, and for design flaws with the hospital’s domestic water system, which affected hot and cold water in patient rooms within the first year of opening. The leaks included one above the ceiling of the hospital’s cancer care unit.

Humber River Hospital opened in October 2015. One of this country’s largest regional acute care facilities, it is touted as North America’s first fully digital hospital.