MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, Mar 19, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A tattoo parlor and a
regional government outside Toronto have been named in a $20 million class
action lawsuit for possibly endangering clients.
Lawyer Todd McCarthy said the suit alleges the MoonShin Tattoo and piercing shop
in Mississauga, which borders Toronto to the west, was lax in keeping records of
sterilizing equipment use and maintenance between March 2005 and this past
February.
He told the Toronto Star as many as 3,000 people could have been exposed to HIV
or hepatitis B or C as a result.
The suit also names the region of Peel, whose health department is mandated to
inspect such facilities at least once a year. However, regional health officials
acknowledged the site had only been inspected twice -- soon after it opened in
2005 and last month. They said the risk of infection was low but urged past
clients to be checked for infection.
Last week, McCarthy told the Brampton Guardian newspaper that was why Peel was
also named in the suit.
"Our position is they could have been out there at least once a year, even twice
a year," he said. "The fact that they went out every four years is completely
unreasonable."
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