Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1995. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press - 2 Oct 1995
He and thousands of other hemophiliacs say they contracted the virus from blood-clotting medicines and should be able to join in a mass lawsuit against drug companies.
On Monday, the Supreme Court dealt the group a setback when it refused to allow the class-action lawsuit against four companies in suburban Chicago, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and near Philadelphia. The lawsuit was filed in Chicago in 1993.
"It's a terrible injustice," said Wadleigh, whose hemophiliac brother died of AIDS in 1985. Wadleigh, of Brookline, Mass., has AIDS.
Without comment, the court rejected the hemophiliacs' bid to reinstate a judge's order that would have let them sue as a class representing thousands of hemophiliacs.
"We're going to continue fighting in the courts," said Wadleigh, a former computer executive who co-founded the Committee of 10,000, an organization of hemophiliacs.
Wadleigh expects more people will now file individual lawsuits.
Another HIV-positive plaintiff, free-lance journalist Corey Dubin of Santa Barbara, Calif., said class-action lawsuits could also be filed in state courts.
Wadleigh and other HIV-positive hemophiliacs were in Washington lobbying for federal legislation when they learned of the ruling.
The legislation being sought would have the government pay the HIV-positive hemophiliacs or their heirs $125,000 each. In return, Wadleigh said, they would agree not to sue the Food and Drug Administration.
Jill Carter, a spokeswoman for Deerfield, Ill.-based Baxter Healthcare Corp. -- one of the companies sued by the hemophiliacs -- said the company is not at fault.
"The tragedy here is that the virus was out here and nobody knew it" at the time, Carter said.
The 1993 lawsuit named three other companies that also use blood plasma to make blood-clotting medicines for hemophiliacs: Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Inc., based near Philadelphia; Miles Inc. of Pittsburgh; and Alpha Therapeutic Corp. of Los Angeles.
Representatives for these companies did not return telephone calls Monday.
The federal Centers for Disease Control has estimated close to half of the nation's hemophiliacs contracted the AIDS virus more than a decade ago from contaminated clotting products.
Hemophiliacs say the companies resisted taking steps to protect their blood supply when they learned of AIDS in the early 1980s.
The companies say they acted responsibly and began screening blood for the virus as soon as a test was available in 1985.
Several hundred lawsuits have been filed in state and federal courts seeking damages.
Copyright 1995/The Associated Press. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, The Associated Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020.
951002
AP951003
Copyright © 1995 - Associated Press. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the AP Permissions Desk.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Elton John AIDS Foundation, National Library of Medicine, Pacific Life Foundation, and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1995. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 1995. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .