Throughout the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, thousands of British people were infected with HIV and hepatitis C due to contaminated blood transfusions. These victims are going to a compensation payment decades after the scandal, the UK government announced on Wednesday.
Each victim is going to receive an interim payment of £100,000 ($121,000) after Brian Langstaff, the chairman of a public inquiry into the long-running scandal, last month recommended making immediate payouts before waiting for an ongoing inquiry to conclude.
The former High Court judge said that the “moral case for compensation is beyond doubt”.
The payments are tax-free and are to be given to survivors and bereaved partners of the thousands who died from the scandal by the end of October, sadi the government.
Thousands of people with haemophilia contracted hepatitis C and HIV after receiving blood transfusions, mainly from the United States, through the state National Health Service (NHS).
There was a shortage of blood in Britain, causing the NHS to buy a large chunk of its stock from the US whose donors included those who were at high risk of infection.
An estimated 2,400 patients died after being infected by contaminated blood products in the 1970s and 1980s.
In a statement, Prime Minister Boris Johnson acknowledged that “nothing can make up for the pain and suffering endured by those affected by this tragic injustice”.
But he added the government was “taking action to do right by victims and those who have tragically lost their partners by making sure they receive these interim payments as quickly as possible”.
However, campaigners said the announcement failed to recognise most family members affected by the scandal, who will miss out on this raft of interim payments.
When the public inquiry concludes next year it is expected to make final recommendations on compensation for this wider group of people, including bereaved parents and the children of victims.
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