The victims of the anti-epileptic drug Dépakine did not wait long after the publication of the decree establishing group action in health, to announce that they intended to take such action against the Sanofi laboratory.
This decree, signed by the Minister of Social Affairs and Health Marisol Touraine and published Tuesday in the Official Journal, establishes group action in health for “allow victims of accidents linked to health products to defend themselves collectively in court”.
Only for the same damage from the same cause
Concretely, for the same damage resulting from the same cause, the victims can now come together to take legal action, to pool the procedures and the costs of litigation. At the end of the procedure, the compensation will remain determined on an individual basis according to the actual loss of each person.
“We were impatiently awaiting this decree”, told AFP Marine Martin, president of the Association for the Assistance of Parents of Children Suffering from Anticonvulsant Syndrome (Apesac). This first group action aims to “failure to provide information” from Sanofi regarding the risks of Depakine for pregnant patients, said the president of Apesac, which brings together around 2,000 families.
This class action will be added to the other legal proceedings initiated. Last week, the Paris prosecutor’s office opened a judicial investigationfor unintentional injury and aggravated deception.
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