Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press - Friday August 4, 2000
Accepting the package would force them to abandon further legal action. About 5,400 people are being invited to vote on the plan Aug. 30. Those eligible include about 25 people infected with HIV through blood transfusions in the early 1980s, and a larger group of Hepatitis C sufferers excluded from $1.2 billion in government compensation because they weren't infected between 1986 and 1990.
The money will be offered through a trust fund, which has been put together with contributions from the Red Cross and co-defendants in the lawsuits, including drug manufacturers and medical insurers, chief negotiator Bob Rae said Thursday.
Red Cross creditors, who are owed about $18 million, will also be asked to vote on a separate deal to determine how much payment they are entitled tto.
Calling the offer "pathetic," Toronto lawyer Ken Arenson said he thinks it's "still uncertain legally" if the co-defendants can be released from liability in exchange for enriching the deal.
Mike McCarthy, past vice-president of the Canadian Hemophilia Society, said the payments, which could work out to between $6,739 and $8,086 for those infected with Hepatitis C, are "table scraps" compared to payments of up to $107,134 awarded to victims included in the $1.2 billion government package.
Hepatitis is a progressive disease which may produce serious symptoms 20 or 30 years after the date of infection.
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