A decree establishes a college of experts and a compensation committee to guarantee compensation for damage attributable to valproate.
This is another victory for the victims of depakine. a decree published in the Official Journal this Sunday, May 7 specifies “the terms of the compensation procedure intended to guarantee full compensation for damage attributable to sodium valproate or one of its derivatives”.
The text will enter into force on 1er next june. It sets up a college of experts responsible for examining the requests of families who are victims of this antiepileptic drug. This group will be composed in particular of a child psychiatrist and a neuropediatrician. They will be appointed by the Ministry of Health and Justice for 3 years.
A compensation committee will also be created. The latter will have to “pronounce on the circumstances, causes, nature and extent of these damages” as well as on “the responsibility of one or more of the responsible persons or of the State”.
Thousands of children affected
Marketed since 1967, sodium valproate and prescribed in the treatment of epilepsy and bipolar disorders. Between 2007 and 2014 alone, 14,000 pregnant women would have received this treatment between. According to the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM), this treatment has caused serious malformations in 2,150 to 4,100 children since the 1960s.
Proving damage from valproate
To request compensation, families will have to file a file with the National Office for Compensation for Medical Accidents (Oniam). This must in particular contain certificates “specifying the extent of the damage to which the applicant has been or considers himself a victim”, as well as any other document which may “establish the existence of a malformation or a behavioral disorder”. , specifies the decree.
If the expert committee finds the imputability of valproate, it will forward the file to the compensation committee. The latter will then have to communicate the file to the insurers and people they deem responsible in order to establish an offer. If the families feel that this offer is insufficient, they can contact ONIAM to obtain compensation from them.
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