health

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Court recognizes state responsibility for hepatitis C infection from tainted drugs

The Osaka District Court on June 21 ordered the government and a drug company to pay compensation to nine of 13 plaintiffs who were infected with the hepatitis C virus from tainted blood products.

The ruling acknowledged the responsibility of the drug maker, Mitsubishi Pharma Corp., (former Green Cross Corp.) for the infection of the plaintiffs who were treated with fibrinogen after August 1985. It ruled that the state also bears the responsibility to those who were infected after April 1987.

The judge said that it was illegal for the then health and welfare minister to approve production of heated fibrinogen in April 1987 without confirming its safety.

Five of the 13 plaintiffs were awarded compensation from the government and the company, and four were compensated only by the drug maker. The remaining four plaintiffs' claims were denied.

Lawyer Yamanishi Yoshiaki appreciated the court's clear recognition of state responsibility, but he pointed out that the court's decision to recognize cases only after 1987 was unreasonable, and said, "It is extremely unjustifiable to draw a line based on the time frame when plaintiffs were infected and to thus reject some of them."

Takeda Seiko, a 55-year-old plaintiff, said, "Since the ruling recognized state responsibility, the government must make effort to relieve all 3.5 million patients."

It was the first court decision among the lawsuits filed by 96 plaintiffs at District Courts in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Sendai, and Nagoya.

Many hepatitis C patients were administered fibrinogen produced by Green Cross Corp. to stop bleeding while they were giving birth or having surgery. At the initial stage it is hard to recognize the infection, but it may lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer in 20 to 30 years.
- Akahata, June 22, 2006