Lawsuit by former students of Brantford school for the blind gets go-ahead

A Superior Court judge has given the go-ahead to a proposed class-action lawsuit against the province by former students of a school for the blind in Brantford who claim they were abused.

Former students of W. Ross MacDonald, who attended the provincially run facility in Brantford from the 1950s until the '80s, allege they suffered a laundry list of abuse, including being slapped, kicked, punched, forced to drink from a urinal, and made to eat their own vomit as punishment for throwing up -- all at the hands of teachers and staff at the school.

Teachers and staff also abused students sexually, or permitted students to abuse one another in this way, the claim states.

The claimants, visually impaired, blind and deaf-blind former students, are seeking $200 million in damages, and as many as 1,000 former students could be affected, say their lawyers.