Panama’s Supreme Court has issued 12 further compensation rulings against the state over medicines contaminated with diethylene glycol, according to a November 6 report by La Prensa.
The decisions, delivered by the court’s Third Chamber during the final week of October, order compensation through the Caja de Seguro Social (CSS), Panama’s public social-security institution. One award is for $150,000 and the other eleven are for $25,000 each.
La Prensa reports that the decisions bring the number of resolved compensation claims to 75 out of 472 filed. The rulings have been forwarded to the CSS for notification and the process of enforcement; that does not establish that the money has already been paid.
The litigation concerns contaminated medicines produced by the institution’s former laboratory between 2004 and 2006. Patients and relatives of people who died have pursued compensation for the harm caused.
The court had previously confirmed the scale of the litigation in an April statement, explaining that each claim required individual examination before judgment.
The latest reported decisions follow a public apology issued by CSS director general Dino Mon on October 23. In that statement, Mon acknowledged institutional responsibility and said the apology complied with a July 27 court judgment.
The CSS said contaminated batches were withdrawn after the poisoning was discovered in 2006 and its medicine-production laboratory was permanently closed.
It also committed to maintaining care for recognised victims and announced plans for an online tool allowing patients and heirs to follow compensation proceedings from judgment through enforcement. That commitment concerns access to case information; it does not provide a payment timetable for the newly reported awards.
Sources: Prensa, CSS
