The college of experts which examines claims for compensation relating to the Mediator wishes to develop and speed up the examination of cases.
Brest pulmonologist Irène Frachon, at the origin of the revelation of the Mediator case, won the case. At the end of May, it was alarmed by the high rejection rate, claims for compensation for victims of the Servier laboratories drug, by the panel of experts from Oniam (1). But today, Alain Legoux, the new president of the college, changes gear. The latter wishes, in fact, to change the working method of experts, to the benefit of patients.
Introduce the notion of presumption
“The doubt must now benefit the applicants,” said Alain Legoux to the Medical Press Agency (APM). In the past, the work of the college had often been criticized, both for its slowness and because of the high proportion of rejected applications. For this Advocate General at the Court of Cassation, the college has treated until now, “the files like a court charged to say the right and to establish the direct and certain proof of the imputability. “He now wishes to develop the college’s method with the new 2008 case law, which introduces the notion of” serious, precise and consistent presumptions “to the detriment of that of the” direct and certain link. “
Speed up the review of files
In addition, Alain Legoux also told the APM that he was working closely with the director of Oniam, to increase the number of cases examined at each meeting. According to him, currently, a hundred files are examined each month (taking into account the three passages in front of the college). A pace that he still considers too slow.
For the president, the problem would lie in the constitution of files ready to be examined, a work carried out for the moment by the administrative services of the Office.
The new organization should make it possible to reduce the number of files submitted by Oniam’s services to the college from 20 to 30 at each meeting. In addition, a decree expected this fall should reduce the number of passages in front of the college from three to two, Erik Rance, director of the Office, told APM.
Asked by why actor in July, Erick Rance indicated that on that date, out of 1,572 opinions issued by the panel of experts, 226 proposed compensation, ie a rate of more than 14% of favorable opinions. The Servier group would subsequently offer Mediator victims compensation offers of around 6,000 euros.
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