Ontario Construction News staff writer
LONDON, Ont. — London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is moving forward with a large-scale project to replace more than 1,350 windows at University Hospital, a remediation effort prompted by an investigation into alleged procurement fraud that uncovered significant defects in original installation work.
David Musyj, the hospital’s provincially appointed supervisor, said in a statement reported by CBC News last Thursday (May 8) that the facility will issue a request for proposals (RFP) for the replacement of 2,600 individual glass units. The project is expected to begin early next year and will be sequenced over a multi-year timeline to minimize disruptions to patient care,
The decision follows a third-party engineering assessment that identified structural deficiencies in a project that began in 2016. According to court filings, the original project was estimated to cost approximately $10.1 million. However, LHSC alleges it ultimately paid nearly $19.5 million plus HST—nearly double the estimate—for work that resulted in water ingress, missing gaskets, and debonded sealant
While the hospital seeks $40 million in damages for negligence and breach of contract, the named defendants have denied all allegations of wrongdoing. In formal Statements of Defence filed in the London Superior Court of Justice, several accused parties have characterized the hospital’s claims as legally and factually flawed.
- Abhijeet (Abhi) Mukherjee (former CFO): In his statement of defence, Mukherjee denies “each and every allegation,” calling the hospital’s claims “baseless and entirely without merit.” He argues the lawsuit is a “retaliatory” response to his own separate wrongful termination suit [Source: CBC News, March 5, 2026].
- Jackie Schleifer Taylor (former CEO): Taylor’s defence characterizes the litigation as a “bad faith attempt” to circumvent financial obligations to past employees and to recoup funds for executive exit payouts [Source: CBC News, March 5, 2026].
- Paresh Soni (owner of BH Contractors): Soni denies he was a “close personal contact” of the project’s director and alleges that BH Contractors—the entity LHSC calls a “non-existing entity”—was actually controlled by former LHSC executive Dipesh Patel, who Soni claims was the company’s “de facto officer and director” [Source: CBC News, March 5, 2026].
- Derek Lall (former director): Lall’s defence states he felt his “job would be at risk” if he did not “turn a blind eye” to the preferential treatment given to certain contractors during the bidding process [Source: CBC News, March 5, 2026].
To ensure the integrity of the upcoming remediation work, LHSC will engage an independent fairness advisor to oversee the new RFP process, CTV NEWS London reported on May 7.
“Our investigation into past procurement practices uncovered issues with the quality of installation,” Musyj said in a statement. While acknowledging that the remediation is a costly burden during a period of financial uncertainty for the hospital, he emphasized that replacing the affected windows is “critical” to ensure the facility’s long-term durability.
None of the allegations contained in the hospital’s Statements of Claim or the refutations in the defendants’ Statements of Defence have been proven in court.
