Persons with hemophilia in the United States, Latin
America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa were
infected with contaminated blood products. Lieff Cabraser
is representing clients from around the world in lawsuits
filed in U.S. courts against American blood companies
that sold in the U.S. and exported contaminated blood
worldwide.
Blood Factor Lawsuit Update - January 2009
Court Refuses to Dismiss Taiwan HIV Cases
A U.S. district court has refused to dismiss the claims of nearly 40 Taiwanese HIV-infected hemophiliacs against Bayer Corp. and Baxter Healthcare Corp., finding California a better venue for the suits than a Taiwanese court for the time being. Judge John. F. Grady of the U.S. District Court for Northern District of Illinois denied a motion from the two pharmaceutical giants Wednesday seeking to dismiss three suits within the multidistrict litigation on the grounds of forum non conveniens without prejudice and recommended remanding the cases to the California district courts where the plaintiffs originally filed.
The litigation involves plaintiffs infected with HIV and hepatitis C from a number of foreign countries who have accused the drug companies of continuing to sell the blood-clotting factor concentrate products derived from contaminated blood donors abroad even after withdrawing the same items from the U.S. market. Though the same judge has already dismissed suits brought by plaintiffs from the U.K., Argentina and Israel on similar grounds, Judge Grady ruled that at present the circumstances in the Taiwan cases differed enough to justify continuing the suits.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld the U.K. dismissal in 2007 but found the decision a "close call" and said the ruling would not be binding for plaintiffs from other countries. Appeals from the Argentina and Israel dismissals are still pending.
