A Superior Court judge has approved a $2.375-million class-action settlement for the 1,194 victims of the diluted chemotherapy drug scandal, dashing the hopes of some patients who objected that their $1,500 share is a slap in the face.

“I’m in pieces about it,” said Louise Martens, a Windsor woman who was one of the most vocal opponents of the proposed settlement. She was one of a dozen people who spoke out against it in a packed courthouse on Jan. 10.

“We were hoping for better news,” Martens said late Friday, trying to hold back tears. “I laid my heart out in court and it didn’t seem to make any difference.”

In his decision released Friday, Justice Gregory Verbeem said the terms of the settlement “are fair, reasonable and in the best interests of the class members, as a whole, and the settlement is, hereby approved.”

The money — a little more than $1,500 each — is expected to be mailed out in two or three months. After six months, the residue from cheques not cashed will go to charity.

Verbeem noted that while there were 49 objections filed against the settlement worked out between the patients’ lawyers and the firms and hospitals involved in providing the diluted chemo drugs, about 95 per cent of the patients did not file objections.

The lawsuit alleged negligence by Marchese’s parent company Mezentco Solutions Inc. Marchese supplied several hospitals in Ontario and New Brunswick — including Windsor Regional Hospital — with premixed intravenous chemotherapy treatment. Also named in the lawsuit were the hospitals and Medbuy, a consortium set up by hospitals to buy products in higher volumes.

More than 70 of the 290 cancer patients given the drugs Windsor Regional Hospital in 2012 and 2013 have since died. The quantity of chemo given was estimated to be seven to 10 per cent less than prescribed.

“At its core, this action is about people — cancer patients and their families; some of whom feel betrayed by the medical system they relied on; some of whom experienced anxiety over their future outcome; and some of whom sincerely believe that their own condition has worsened or that they have lost a loved on, either sooner than they otherwise would have, or at all, because of the dosing incident,” Verbeem wrote in his decision.

Indisputably, the value of ‘the life’ of each class member is immeasurable. The terms of the settlement do not suggest otherwise, and they do not reflect an attempt to value ‘the worth’ of any class

But he agreed with the lawyers for the patients who said they negotiated the best deal possible, likely better than what they would have won if they proceeded to trial. There was a lack of evidence showing the under-dosing caused the patients harm. He also said current litigation law makes getting damages for psychological harm in this situation difficult.

Verbeem also disputed the suggestion made by some objectors that the settlement means their lives are worth only $1,500.

“That is not the case,” Verbeem wrote in the 34-page document.

“Indisputably, the value of ‘the life’ of each class member is immeasurable. The terms of the settlement do not suggest otherwise, and they do not reflect an attempt to value ‘the worth’ of any class.”

Windsor lawyer Harvey Strosberg, who represented many of the under-dosing victims and was criticized by some of them when the proposed settlement was announced, said he’s happy with the judge’s approval. “Because overwhelmingly the class members supported this settlement.”

The case was very difficult, he said, because the evidence wasn’t there.

“Effectively, we would have been blown out of the courtroom and to get this money from the defendants was a remarkable set of negotiations.”

The money will be divided up among the victims ($1.8 million), lawyers ($400,000), administrative costs ($75,000) and the Ontario and New Brunswick governments ($100,000).

There’s a 30-day appeal period, but Strosberg said the class members aren’t included in the parties permitted to appeal.

He said the judge was very empathetic to the objectors.

“Understandably, people who’ve lost loved ones can’t get hold of the reality that they were going to die anyway,” he said. “Sad but true.”