More than 100 people infected with the hepatitis C virus through blood transfusions won compensation totalling millions of pounds in the high court yesterday.
The case against the national blood authority and the Velindre NHS trust, the blood authority for Wales, was the first group action to reach court under a little-used law, the Consumer Protection Act 1987. The act was brought in to implement a European directive on product liability, creating a system of "strict liability" that makes producers and suppliers of defective products liable even if they were not negligent.
Mr Justice Burton ruled that the 114 claimants, who have been granted anonymity, were entitled to compensation. Their lawyers, who were awarded costs thought to be between £2m and £3m, provisionally estimate compensation at £6m to £7m - a total bill for the NHS that could reach £10m.
Patients whose conditions worsen will be able to come back for more. Initial awards will be based on six representative cases, ranging from more than £10,000 to more than £210,000. The largest award was for a woman who developed cirrhosis and had to have a liver transplant.
The ruling sets a precedent for similar cases to be mounted in the future.
The judge will decide next month whether to give permission to appeal.
The act makes producers liable if the product is not as safe as the general public is entitled to expect. But a producer has a defence if it can show that the state of scientific and technical knowledge was such that it could not be expected to have discovered the defect.
The claimants had transfusions following March 1, 1988, when the act came into force. In May 1988, the hepatitis C virus was identified, but before that it was known there was an unidentified virus causing hepatitis, particularly after transfusions. Screening for the virus was not introduced in the UK until September 1991, later than in most other countries in the developed world.
Nicholas Underhill QC, for the blood authorities, told the court: "They do not accept that the moment that the first country introduces screening, unscreened blood products in every other country automatically become defective."
Mr Justice Burton said yesterday that the public expected, and was entitled to expect, clean blood. Blood contaminated with hepatitis C was defective, and anyone who caught the virus as a result was entitled to compensation because the NHS knew about the risk. It should have acted earlier to reduce the risk of transmission, and should have introduced routine screening of all blood transfusions by March 1, 1990.
The judge ruled that under the "no-fault" regime created by the act and the European directive, once a risk had been identified producers should cover themselves against the risk.
Anthony Mallen of Deas Mallen, the Newcastle upon Tyne solicitors which led the action, said: "This is a landmark decision for consumer rights and shows that the effect of the EU directive has been significantly to strengthen product liability law."
The claimants included women who received transfusions immediately after childbirth, and patients given blood during surgery or as treatment for a blood disorder. Several children became infected while being treated for leukaemia.
In May, the judge is to preside over a preliminary hearing involving another nine claimants, including haemophiliacs and a woman who became infected during a heart transplant.
