A person who contracted hepatitis C through blood transfusions contaminated with the virus has been awarded almost £2 million in compensation, The Irish Times has learned.
It is the single biggest award made so far by the compensation tribunal, more than doubling the previous highest award of £924,000, which was made to a haemophiliac before Christmas.
The cost of awards which are expected to be made by the tribunal has been projected at £335 million.
The victim's solicitor, Mr Greg O'Neill, of Brophy Solicitors, last night declined to divulge the identity of his client. However, he confirmed that £1.6 million had been awarded and that a payment from the Reparation Fund would entail an additional £363,000.
The tribunal was established by the then government in December 1995 to compensate people who had contracted hepatitis C from Anti-D and other blood products, which had been administered to them by the Blood Transfusion Service Board (BTSB).
It has powers to give either a lump sum or make a provisional award. The tribunal can also give an applicant the right to return at a later date in the light of any new circumstances.
In May, Mr Jerry O'Dwyer, secretary general of the Department of Health and Children, said 1,811 claims had been made to the tribunal and awards totalling £103 million had been made in 759 cases. This represented an average of £135,186 per claimant.
When legal costs of an average of £220,000 per case are included, the awards are expected to cost £335 million.
The Reparation Fund, provided under the Hepatitis Compensation Tribunal Act, has meanwhile given 424 of the successful claimants additional awards, totalling more than £11.5 million, by last February. Last December, a haemophiliac who contracted hepatitis C from blood products was awarded £770,000, plus an additional 20 per cent from the Reparation Fund, taking the total payment to £924,000.
The late Ms Brigid McCole, who took the first test case before the courts, was believed to have received £175,000.
Mrs Mary Quinlan, in the second case taken to the High Court, settled her case for damages minutes before it was due to be heard. It is believed she was awarded around £600,000.
The High Court was told recently that the Minister for Health had made a number of regulations to enable 13 people to appeal against awards made by the hepatitis C tribunal.