A woman who was admitted to the Southwestern Regional Centre near Chatham, Ont., in 1971 is seeking to sue the provincial government for $2 billion over alleged abuse.

Lawyers for Mary Ellen Fox have filed a claim seeking a class action on behalf of people who lived at the centre between 1961 and 2008.

Fox, who was born in Wallaceburg, Ont., alleged that residents were physically, mentally and emotionally traumatized by their experiences at Southwestern, which ran residential programs for the developmentally delayed and disabled.

In her statement of claim, Fox alleged being overmedicated and subjected to shocks with a "cattle prod"-like device as punishment.

The suit seeks $1 billion in damages for negligence and breach of fiduciary duty and $1 billion in punitive damages.

Allegations contained in the statement of claim have not been tested in court.

In her claim, Fox stated that "residents were improperly exposed to the use of electric shocks and confined to small, windowless rooms on a regular basis as a form of discipline."

Fox was "regularly locked in a 'time-out' room when she became upset at having gifts, given to her by family, taken away by staff," the claim states.

She also witnessed other children being similarly punished and felt "Southwestern had an air of violence and punishment which created fear among the residents," the statement of claim alleges.

Fox also claims she received virtually no education while at Southwestern, also known as Cedar Springs. Only after leaving the facility in 1988 did she learn to read and write, she said.

From 1961 to 2008, when Southwestern closed, thousands had lived at the facility, many of them children.

The province has 20 days to file a statement of defence.