Relatives of patients who died in hospital after contracting the clostridium difficile bacteria, are to take legal action against the health board.
Relatives of patients who died in hospital after contracting the clostridium difficile bacteria, are to take legal action against the health board.
A total of 18 deaths have been linked to the C Diff bug at Vale of Leven Hospital in Alexandria, Dunbartonshire, and in half of the cases it was the main cause of death.
Families of seven of the nine victims have announced they intend to pursue NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde through the courts.
One of the family members, whose mother-in-law died at the hospital, said the case was not about financial gain for anyone concerned. They are meeting today in Dumbarton to outline the grounds of their legal challenge.
In the outbreak, dating back to January, 55 patients have been diagnosed with C Diff. The last patient died last month and two patients were still being treated in isolation for the bug.
An unconnected outbreak at the Victoria Infirmary, in Glasgow, has closed a ward to new admissions. While no-one has died, four patients have been isolated.
A spokeswoman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: "We have not been informed of any intended legal action at this stage.
"However, we recognise the rights of patients or their next of kin to use the complaints procedure or indeed take legal action and we have processes in place to deal with such matters."
Last week it was revealed a record number of pensioners have been diagnosed with the C Diff bug in Scotland.
Figures showed there were 1861 cases of C Diff among the over-65s between January and March this year, up 16% from 1608 in the past three months of 2007.
Health professionals said the rise could be linked to the changing seasons but warned it is too early to draw definite conclusions, as rates have been monitored for less than two years.
The cases at the Vale of Leven led to questions being asked in the Scottish Parliament and accusations that the Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon did not act quickly enough to tackle the outbreak.
However, she hit back, stating as soon as it was brought to her attention a review of infection control procedures was ordered. She also announced an independent review, with results expected later this month.
Ms Sturgeon said the reports she had received from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde raised "serious cause for concern".
She said her officials were first informed of three cases on May 21, and a look back exercise found the wider cluster of cases at the hospital over the past six months.
Last month Tom Divers, chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said he "bitterly regretted" the shortcomings at Vale of Leven Hospital in Dunbartonshire and offered to apologise if further failures were identified.
The independent review to be conducted by Cairns Smith, professor of public health at Aberdeen University, will examine all aspects of the C Diff outbreak at the Vale of Leven Hospital. It will also consider the surveillance systems and infection control procedures in place there.
News of the legal action in Scotland came as it emerged the NHS is being sued for tens of millions of pounds in damages over bugs contracted in hospitals.
Almost £7.5m has already been paid out to more than 100 victims of the superbug MRSA and C Diff infection. A backlog of hundreds more claims are yet to be settled.
The NHS Litigation Authority has set aside a reserve fund of nearly £42m to cover potential payouts and associated costs, according to new figures.
Released under the Freedom of Information Act, it suggests the number of people claiming for clinical negligence in relation to MRSA and C Diff is continuing to rise each year.
