For the first time, civil justice is studying Servier’s liability. The Nanterre court is examining two claims for compensation.
Seven years after the start of the Mediator scandal, French justice is studying for the first time the responsibility of the Servier laboratory. This Thursday afternoon, the 2e Nanterre tribunal de grande instance (TGI) is examining two claims for compensation. A decision that could set a precedent for the thousands of victims of this antidiabetic prescribed for more than 30 years as an appetite suppressant. Withdrawn in 2009, it could be the cause of 1,300 to 1,800 long-term deaths.
The first request was filed by a 67-year-old woman suffering from valve disease who is claiming 125,000 euros from the laboratory in compensation for her injury. The other concerns a 72-year-old man who claims 900,000 euros after having undergone a heart operation to implant heart valves. The purpose of these civil proceedings is therefore to claim compensation for the effects of this appetite suppressant.
No cent paid
At the microphone ofEurope 1, the victims’ lawyer, Charles Joseph-Oudin, denounces excessively long compensation periods and the failings of the laboratory. “The passing of time is not favorable to the victims and it is likely, if the Servier laboratories appeal and then go to the Court of Cassation, that it will take about ten years for my client to obtain final compensation. This is not acceptable, ”he lamented.
According to Le Figaro, the Servier laboratory should between 2 and 30 million euros to the primary health insurance funds (CPAM) which must advance the costs of patient care. The latter have therefore taken the laboratory to court to demand reimbursement of the latter. So far, the laboratory has offered 1,282 compensation offers to patients, without paying a penny.
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