Up to 140,000 blood scandal relatives can claim compensation

Up to 140,000 parents, children and brothers of infected blood scandal can claim compensation under the new laws established before Parliament.

It is believed that 30,000 people contracted HIV and hepatitis of contaminated blood products in the 1980s.

The new laws will allow the relatives of those infected to claim total compensation for their own right for the impact on their lives.

In May 2024, a condemnatory report found that the authorities covered the scandal and exposed the victims to unacceptable risks.

Foreign Minister Rachel Reeves said in her autumn budget that they had reserved £ 11.8 billion for compensation, in what is believed will be the largest payment of its kind in the history of NHS.

The scheme is being introduced in phases.

The legislation was approved last summer to compensate for people who contracted HIV and hepatitis B or C as a result of NHS treatments.

The new laws will extend those payments to parents, partners, children, brothers and some caregivers of the infected.

The final amounts paid will depend on the individual circumstances.

Document draft Posted last year Suggesting that a father who lost a child for hepatitis C can expect to receive around £ 85,000, while a brother can wait around £ 30,000.

The number of relatives and caregivers who could request compensation is extremely uncertain, partly due to the duration of time that has elapsed since the scandal first emerged in the 1980s.

Internal government estimates suggest that between 24,000 and 140,000 affected people could claim.

The Minister of the Office of the Cabinet, Nick Thomas-Symonds, said that the government is determined to deliver justice to the victims of the scandal.

“I know that the scale of suffering has suffered,” he said.

“These new laws will be vital to deliver compensation to the people who made such a large amount, they often suffered so much for themselves, when they take care of their loved ones that contracted diseases that changed their lives.”

The total of £ 11.8 billion reserved by the ministers is intended to cover the period until the next general elections must be presented in 2029, but could increase if large numbers are presented.

The new laws will also allow some infected people to claim complementary payments if additional tests are provided.

Those who can demonstrate that they were the victims of the little ethical research, for example, can receive additional £ 10,000.

Those with the blood hemophilia disorder, which contracted HIV or hepatitis C as children while they are in Treloar school in Hampshire, they will receive £ 15,000.

The bill must be debated and approved by both Chambers of Parliament before being approved, which the government expects to happen at the end of March.

The groups that represent the victims and their families have already expressed concern about the time it has taken that the scheme begins to operate.

Until now, the infected blood compensation authority (IBCA), which manages payments, has invited 113 people infected with claiming and made 23 compensation offers.

The lawyer Des Collins, who is advising thousands of families, said the scheme cannot face “anywhere near” the volume of applications that should process, and warned that “many can die” while waiting.

Ibca said he was “starting with little” due to the complexity of some cases, but promised that the process would accelerate from April of this year.