Haemophiliac Infected With HIV and AIDs
History
In 1991, many people with Haemophilia in Ireland had been infected with HIV and/or developed AIDS as a result of receiving contaminated blood products to treat their haemophilia. Many of those persons infected were dying, and many others were experiencing dire health and financial consequences as a result of these infections.
The Irish Haemophilia Society, which represented the vast majority of those persons involved, entered a type of class claim settlement with then Taoiseach Charles J. Haughey and the Irish Government. This political settlement was intended to compensate for injuries sustained as a result of receiving contaminated blood products.
In 1995, Malcomson Law took over legal representation for the Irish Haemophilia Society, and solicitor Raymond Bradley, Managing Partner, examined that settlement as part of the preparation for the Lindsay Tribunal of Inquiry, and realized it was inadequate in terms of the wrong that had been foisted upon the haemophilia community and the amount of compensation delivered by the Government at the time.
By now, there was a Compensation Tribunal established for those infected with Hepatitis C from contaminated blood and blood products, but the haemophilia community were not included.
Raymond Bradley made a submission to the Government, and as a result of that submission, the Government decided that the 1991 scheme was neither fair nor equitable. After considerable negotiations with the Government's representatives, Malcomson Law succeeded in achieving an amendment to the Compensation Tribunal, to include the haemophiliac community.
This was the first time in the history of the State that the Government had accepted that a class-type settlement for a group of litigants was neither fair nor equitable.
The new scheme
The new scheme is enacted by the Hepatitis C Compensation Tribunal (Amendment) Act 2002. It contains certain unique and novel aspects, which are as follows:
1. General Damages on Behalf of Deceased Persons
Usually, when a person dies as a result of an injury arising from negligence, his/her dependents are entitled to pursue a fatal claim.
It has been legal practice for over 150 years that fatal claims do not contain an entitlement to general damages, i.e. compensation for the pain and suffering endured by the deceased prior to death.
The 2002 Act gives the dependents of the deceased an entitlement to pursue a claim for pain and suffering endured by the deceased prior to death.
It ensures that the State did not benefit from failing to deliver fair and equitable compensation in the form of general damages in 1991.
2. Loss of Consortium
This recognises that the close relatives i.e. spouses/partners of those infected with HIV and Hepatitis C suffer to a significant effect as a result of the viral infections, from contaminated blood products.
Living with a person who has a serious debilitating illness which is life-threatening is a heavy burden. It leads to a loss in the quality of family life, in companionship, in care and in affectionate relations resulting in an entitlement to compensation.
Making a claim
If you feel that you may be entitled to compensation from this scheme, please contact Malcomson Law by calling 01 8744422 or by filling out an Online Enquiry Form. A solicitor who specialises in taking cases to this Compensation Tribunal will contact you to advise you of your legal rights and entitlements.