Medical negligence news

Lord Morris corrects the government's assertion over the basis for the Irish hepatitis compensation scheme

During the second reading of the Contaminated Blood Bill, which will give haemophiliacs compensation at a much higher level if it becomes law, Lord Morris made it clear that the Government's previous statements to Parliament about the basis of the Irish scheme were "untrue". He also said that the Irish Haemophilia Society had considered these statements "misleading and erroneous" and that the Irish Government had requested that the Department of Health would now "correct the record" in view of its inaccurate statements about the sequence of events in Ireland.

The link to the Hansard report can be found here:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200910/ldhansrd/text/91211-0003.htm#09121131000482

In criticising the Government's repeated failures to act to assist haemophiliacs, Lord Low of Dalston said:

"The recourse of successive Governments to the device of Crown immunity, requiring sufferers to sign waivers in respect of Hepatitis C in circumstances where they did not know that they might have it but the department knew they were at risk; the resistance to disclosure of documents to the multiparty group; the refusal to hold an inquiry, and then disingenuously relying on the fact that there have been no findings of fault against the British Government; the reliance on discretionary trust funds rather than a system of benefits as of right to provide a measure of compensation; the failure to recognise the claims of widows; and the suggestion that unless a Government are in some way responsible for a misfortune befalling a group of their citizens, they are under no obligation to relieve it, all these things and more can only bring shame on the reputation of this country and its handling of this tragedy, which has been so much less open and generous than that displayed by numerous other countries"

It is clear that amongst Lords there is as Lord Morris says "a ready understanding of [the haemophilia community's] despair and an unbreakable resolve that if this struggle has to go on, then go on it will until right is done".

Michelmores joins with its clients and the Lords in insisting that right is done and that proper compensation according to need be given to the forgotten victims of the "worst treatment disaster in the NHS".

Created: 16/12/2009
Categories: Blood products