Being the resident army.ca tattoo hater, I just had to post this.
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/248673
Aug 22, 2007 04:30 AM
Carola Vyhnak
Staff reporter
A $10 million class-action lawsuit has been launched against an Oshawa body art studio after thousands of people were urged to get tested for blood-borne diseases because they may have been exposed to dirty equipment.
The lawsuit against Longhorn Custom Bodyart Studio was filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Whitby Monday on behalf of Oshawa resident Kaleb Beaulieu, who received a tattoo at Longhorn in July.
The action includes everyone who received a tattoo or body piercing between Nov. 17, 2006, and Aug. 1 of this year, when the studio's equipment sterilizer was alleged to have been malfunctioning on and off.
Durham Region health authorities warned that possible use of non-sterile equipment could lead to transmission of HIV and hepatitis B and C and sent letters to 2,400 people, urging them to see a doctor and get blood tests. The 530 results that have come back so far were all negative, said spokesperson Glendene Collins.
Beaulieu, a mechanic in his 20s who had a lion's face tattooed on his forearm, said he's worried about his test results. "It is always in the back of my mind that I might have a disease," he said in a statement through his lawyer. Beaulieu expects to get his hepatitis results in a week but says conclusive tests for HIV will take six months.
Longhorn, which has been in business 16 years, was closed Aug. 1 by health inspectors for eight days after a routine visit revealed the machine used to sterilize multi-use instruments hadn't been working properly. The machine has since passed daily tests ordered by the health department, Collins said. The studio has been ordered to do bi-weekly tests for the next two years.
The statement of claim alleges negligence on the part of the studio and its owner, Hugh Towie. The sterilizer was being operated at lower than the required 132C, "such that Hepatitis B and C and HIV could have survived the steam treatment," the claim says.
The lawsuit still has to be certified by the court as a class action. None of the allegations have been proven in court. No statement of defence has been filed.
Towie called the lawsuit a "crock." "There are no problems whatsoever and in July there were no problems either." When the shop reopened Aug. 9, Towie's wife Kim said a technician fixed the machine in July. "It was just a screw that needed adjustment. The temperature was supposed to reach 132 but it only got to 128."