Google – AFP, 2 December 2013
 |
Lynette
Rowe with her legal team and supporters leaving the Supreme Court
in Melbourne
on July 18, 2012, after settling her own case against Diageo (Gordon
Legal/AFP/File)
|
Sydney — A
class action over birth defects linked to the morning sickness drug thalidomide
was settled in an Australian court Monday, with the British distributor
agreeing to pay victims Aus$89 million (US$81 million).
Lawyers
representing some 100 Australian and New Zealand victims of the drug told the
Victorian Supreme Court that settlement had been reached with Diageo, which
owns now-defunct thalidomide distributor The Distillers Company.
"It
has been difficult and challenging litigation but this settlement will now see
a group of people receive compensation, a result that goes some distance to
finally addressing a very grave historic wrong," said lawyer for the
victims, Peter Gordon.
"The result
we have achieved today is a vindication of their courage."
Monica
McGhie, 50, is among the claimants. She was born without limbs after her mother
took thalidomide during pregnancy and said the payout would be life-changing.
"I
never thought this day would come," said McGhie. "Life has been a
daily struggle for 50 years."
"This
settlement will not take that hardship away but it means I can look to the
future with more confidence, knowing I can afford the support and care I
need."
The Aus$89
million payout, plus Aus$6.5 million in costs, signals an end to the case, with
Gordon indicating that an associated compensation suit against German drug
manufacturer Grunenthal would be abandoned.
Gordon's
co-counsel in the litigation, Michael Magazanik, said victims had been
"disgusted" that Grunenthal had refused to contribute to the
settlement but noted that the German firm was facing similar suits in the US,
Britain and Spain.
"The
day is coming when Grunenthal's shocking behaviour in relation to thalidomide
is exposed, and the company is forced to face up to the consequences," he
said.
He
described Monday's settlement as a "tremendous result".
"It is
not often that badly injured people can achieve justice 50 years after they
were wronged," said Magazanik.
Diageo was
created through the 1997 merger of Grand Metropolitan and Guinness and was not
directly responsible for distributing thalidomide but had "done the right
thing by negotiating this settlement," Gordon said.
"Diageo
has behaved in a compassionate fashion, and that should be recognised."
Diageo
director Ian Wright said the company had endeavoured to act "responsibly
and empathetically" with regard to thalidomide victims and was pleased to
have resolved the case out of court.
"We
believe that the settlement reached today is both fair and equitable to all
involved in this very sensitive and difficult situation," said Wright.
The
lawsuit's lead plaintiff, Lynette Rowe, settled her own case against Diageo in
July last year for an undisclosed amount and was in court on Monday to hear
Gordon's announcement.
Diageo had
indicated at the time of Rowe's settlement that it was prepared to negotiate
with the rest of the action's claimants.
Rowe was
born in 1962 without arms and legs after her pregnant mother took thalidomide.
Her legal team claimed Australia had been targeted as a priority market for the
drug.
Thalidomide
was launched in the late 1950s and was sold in nearly 50 countries before it
was withdrawn after babies began showing severe side effects from the drug.
An
estimated 10,000 children worldwide were born with deformities, including the
absence of arms and legs.
Affidavits
sworn last year in the Australian case alleged that Grunenthal was warned of
birth defects years before thalidomide was withdrawn from sale and the drug was
never tested on gestating animals, with pregnant women its first clinical trial
subjects.
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