Appeals : Confirmed Referee Decisions : #35 - December 28, 2001

D E C I S I O N

In this case, the Claimant was acting as representative for her father who died in May 1995 and who had been a hemophiliac since birth and had received at least one blood transfusion during the Class Period, more specifically in 1987. Such facts were well documented on the claim's file and were not challenged or no contradictory evidence was presented at the hearing on December 5, 2001. The hearing where the undersigned acted as referee was held following denial of the Claimant's application for compensation of January 4, 2001 by the Plan's Administrator ("the Administrator") on August 30, 2001.

Further to an analysis and review of the claim's file in the presence of the parties at the hearing, we are led to conclude that there are no records of a clear diagnosis of Hepatitis C or of any test conducted before the Claimant's father's death. By ricochet, there is no mention that Hepatitis C would have contributed significantly to the death. According to documentation on file, the death was caused by a cerebral aneurysm. It is only one year after the death, or more specifically in May 1996, that the St. Mary Hospital Centre sent a letter to the Claimant informing her that her father could possibly have been infected during the 1987 transfusion. However, in the filled out claim's form, there is no mention by the professional acting as attending physician indicating that this HCV infection would have contributed to the death. It is important to reiterate that cerebral aneurysm was considered to be the cause of the Claimant's father's death and no evidence to the contrary was brought forward on the matter.

From the overall written and oral evidence brought forward in this case, one can therefore conclude that the Claimant was not able to provide sufficient arguments for the undersigned to believe that the Administrator's decision on this claim's file was not made in accordance with the terms and conditions of the 1986-1990 Hepatitis C Class Actions' Settlement Agreement.

Consequently, the Administrator's decision to deny the claim on August 30, 2001 is upheld.

Martin Hébert, QC
Referee