Appeals : Confirmed
Referee Decisions : #8 - July 6th, 2001
D E C I S I O N
1. The Claimant applied for compensation as a Primarily-Infected
Person pursuant to the Transfused HCV Plan.
2. By letter dated March 19, 2001, the Administrator denied
the claim on the basis that the Claimant had not provided
sufficient evidence to establish that she received blood during
the Class Period.
3. The Claimant requested that the Administrator's denial
of her claim be reviewed by a referee.
4. Both parties waived the requirement for an oral hearing.
5. A very brief written submission was received from the
Claimant on May 22, 2001, reiterating her belief that she
is entitled to compensation because she was infected with
Hepatitis C as a result of a blood transfusion which she received
in the year 1990.
6. A written submission was received from Fund counsel,
on behalf of the Administrator, on July 5, 2001.
7. The relevant facts are not in dispute and can be summarized
as follows:
(a) the Claimant is infected with Hepatitis C;
(b) such infection was probably the result of a blood
transfusion which the Claimant received while a surgical
patient at the Aberdeen Hospital in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia,
to which she was admitted on November 1, 1990;
(c) on November 2, 1990, the Claimant underwent surgery
at which time she was transfused with five units of blood
and also received two units of fresh frozen plasma;
(d) the Claimant did not receive any blood transfusions
during the period from January 1, 1986 to and including
July 1, 1990.
8. Based on the foregoing facts, it is clear that the Administrator's
denial of the Claimant's request for compensation must be
sustained.
9. The 1986-1990 Hepatitis C Settlement Agreement defines
"Class Period" as meaning "the period from
and including 1 January 1986 to and including 1 July 1990".
The Transfused HCV Plan contains the identical definition.
10. The Transfused HCV Plan defines "Primarily-Infected
Person" as meaning "a person who received a Blood
transfusion in Canada during the Class Period...".
11. Article 3.01 of the Transfused HCV Plan provides that
a person claiming to be a Primarily-Infected Person must provide
the Administrator with medical "records demonstrating
that the Claimant received a Blood transfusion in Canada during
the Class Period".
12. Unfortunately for the Claimant, she was unable to provide
the proof required by Article 3.01 because her transfusion
was subsequent to the Class Period.
13. The problem with any plan which has a definite start
and end date, of course, is that there will frequently be
persons who fail to qualify for the benefits of such plan
by a few days or, as in this case, a few months; however,
this does not mean that the time lines in the plan can or
should be modified or overlooked to accommodate cases of apparent
hardship. Otherwise, the start and end dates would become
meaningless.
14. The role of the Administrator under the Settlement Agreement
is to administer the Transfused HCV Plan and Hemophiliac HCV
Plan in accordance with their respective terms. The Administrator
does not have the authority to alter or disregard the terms
of the Plans, nor does a referee when called upon to review
decisions of the Administrator.
15. I realize that the Claimant feels she is being denied
compensation on the basis of a technicality and, in a sense,
this is true. On the other hand, it must also be recognized
that the Hepatitis C Settlement Agreement was only intended
to cover claims relating to a defined time period - namely,
January 1, 1986 to July 1, 1990 - and has been funded on that
premise. It does not apply and was never meant to apply to
persons infected with Hepatitis C as a result of blood transfusions
received at other times. I note that there are other class
actions which are ongoing with respect to other time periods
and the Claimant may well benefit from those when they are
settled or otherwise resolved.
16. In the result, the Administrator's denial of the Claimant's
request for compensation is hereby upheld.
DATED at Halifax, Nova Scotia, this 6th day of July, 2001.
S. BRUCE OUTHOUSE, Q.C.
Referee
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