A lawyer representing approximately 1,500 claims stated that victims of the tainted blood scandal should be compensated “quickly.”
A judge ruled on Friday that the more than 4,000 surviving victims should get £100,000 in interim compensation as soon as feasible.
The attorney Des Collins stated that payment must be made “within days or weeks,” and he will increase the pressure beginning on Monday.
The government has stated that it will evaluate any recommendations immediately.
In the 1970s and 1980s, thousands of people developed HIV or hepatitis C after receiving a new medication called factor VIII or IX. Over 2,400 people have perished as a result.
Sir Brian Langstaff, the head of the public investigation into tainted blood, stated on Friday that those who presently qualify for financial help, including some surviving partners of the deceased, should immediately get payments.
Mr. Collins praised Sir Brian’s remarks and stated that victims should receive recompense immediately.
Mr. Collins stated, “When I say immediately, I do not mean within three months; I mean immediately.”
“Within the next several days or weeks,” he added. I believe 14 days is a realistic amount of time to put the wheels in motion, and that is what we will request on Monday.
In his testimony in 2021, then-health secretary Matt Hancock stated that victims and their families would receive compensation if the public inquiry formally demanded it.
Currently, victims and their families receive a yearly financial support payment, but they are not reimbursed for lost wages, care costs, or other lifelong losses.
Over the years, the government has implemented several programs that provide victims with financial support without any admission of culpability. However, compensation has never been provided to impacted people or families, unlike in the Republic of Ireland and other nations.
The compensation would be meant to cover immediate expenses and care requirements, with final recommendations on compensation for a broader group of people anticipated after the investigation is complete the following year.
A study commissioned by the government and published last month concluded that victims should be compensated for the physical and social injury, the stigma of the disease, the impact on family and work life, and the cost of care.
The study proposed that partners, children, siblings, and parents of individuals affected should also be eligible for payouts.
The school where scores of NHS blood scandal victims died
Why the NHS delivered thousands of HIV-contaminated blood units
If the investigation and subsequent government embrace these ideas, the overall cost might exceed one billion pounds.
The government will review Sir Brian’s findings and Sir Robert Francis QC’s recommendations with the utmost urgency and will respond promptly, according to a government official.
