A WOMAN who developed AIDS from a contaminated blood transfusion has received a substantial damages settlement from the State.
The woman, a nurse from Co Kilkenny, was the first person to become infected with HIV through a blood transfusion. She took her action against the Blood Transfusion Service Board and the Department of Health.
The chief executive officer of the BTSB, Mr Liam Dunbar, confirmed last night that the case had been settled yesterday evening.
"I am happy it is all settled and that the lady does not have to face the trauma of going to court", Mr Dunbar said.
The woman's solicitor, Ms Ann Marie McCrystal, said that negotiations with the State's legal team on the amount of the settlement began less than a week ago.
"We met with a view to settling the case so that our client would not have to go through further anxiety. Thankfully, it has been settled, and she can avoid the distress that goes with court action", Ms McCrystal said.
The woman, who is middle aged, discovered she was HIV positive after falling ill while abroad on holiday. She was tested for HIV and informed that the test was positive.
She was infected after receiving a blood transfusion for anaemia in 1985.
Under the terms of the agreement the amount of the award for ordinary and aggravated damages is to remain confidential.
"It is absolutely confidential", Mr Dunbar said. "Both sides agreed that no comment would be made on the amount".
Last night legal sources indicated that they would expect the amount paid to the woman to be in the region of £250,000, at the higher end of the scale for such an award.
The settlement figure would take into account her loss of earnings, pain and suffering, including mental trauma, and the shortening of her life.
Married with no children, the woman, who has given up her job in St Luke's Hospital in Kilkenny, is very anxious that her privacy should be respected, according to Ms McCrystal.
It emerged before Christmas that the BTSB had failed to trace blood from seven donors who had tested HIV positive between 1985 and 1989.
Some 31 products were made from these blood donations and the Kilkenny woman was infected by one of them.
Last September the BTSB wrote to 45 hospitals, requesting them to trace the blood products. However, the letters contained no mention of HIV and only 14 of the 45 hospitals responded.
Ms McCrystal said that the woman was anxious that an inquiry into how her infection came about should begin promptly.
"We met the Minister for Health, Mr Noonan, and he has given a commitment that the tribunal to examine the HIV infection of blood will be established quickly to deal with all those issues. She is happy with that."