An application to have a German firm joined as a co-defendant in an action by a group Irish haemophiliacs diagnosed as HIV positive was granted by the High Court yesterday.
The plaintiffs, who are suing under assumed names, already have proceedings against three US corporations: Armour Pharmaceuticals, Pennsylvania; Baxter Healthcare Corporation, Illinois, and Miles Laboratories, Indiana.
Yesterday, on the application of the plaintiffs, Mr Justice, Morris, in a reserved judgment, gave leave for Immuno to be joined as co-defendants. The judge said the proceedings were a block of 20 actions brought by plaintiffs, or the representatives of a deceased plaintiff, who are or were haemophiliacs.
The plaintiffs claimed damages against the three US corporations which collected and processed blood and manufactured and marketed blood product for the treatment off haemophilia.
The claim was based on allegations that the corporations were guilty of negligence in, inter alia, failing to take reasonable care in the collection of blood, which resulted in samples from unhealthy donors, with plaintiffs thereby becoming HIV positive.