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Primodos Drug, Birth Defect And Compensation

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Categories: Medical negligence, News
Date published: 28/09/2020

We have heard in the news that following an in depth investigation by Sky News the campaign to seek redress for a pregnancy test drug called Primodos has led to an apology from the Health Secretary however, there is no evidence that the manufacturers of the drug are prepared to compensate the victims.  The victims are the many women in the 1960s and 1970s who were given this drug.  There was evidence that the drug  had the potential to cause serious consequences such as women giving birth to babies with many deformities and investigation suggests that the drug should have been taken out of circulation in the 1970s yet it was not.

A campaign by the victims and children, now adults born with deformities are still fighting to have their voices heard.

It took the former PM, Mrs. May to say women were perhaps treated as though their valid concerns were not important or worthy of attention.  Now,  we have heard that before with regards to the long campaign in relation to the vaginal mesh cases.

It has taken many campaigners and years of  hard work to get to this point but one must ask why should it be for the victims themselves to spend their energy fighting to be heard when they are already having to come to terms with the consequences of a drug which many rightly thought was safe for them. It is tragic and bordering on travesty that honest victims are left to fight their own battles. 

The evidence that the health regulation system failed to protect patient safety by allowing the drug to be used means that many victims have suffered due to this drug but there are similar claims in respect of another drug sodium valproate ( an epileptic drug) and the medical product, vaginal mesh.

One has to ask why as a society we do not take patient safety seriously.

Why has it taken a  40 year campaign for acceptance that the drug caused damage ?

Why are defendants defending or worst still in a state of denial ?  Is this due to scant regard and lack of care for patient safety or is it something else that makes patients concerns as trivial or attention seeking?

The victims have finally received an apology we must ask what follows next. A continuation of the battle through courts  or acceptance by those who failed these victims? . No amount of compensation will put right the damage and hurt caused to the many but it might go some way to helping the victims find some closure.

Surely it is time to accept what is and put right years of suffering.  

If you have suffered complications due to the drug Primodos or sodium valproate or due the vaginal mesh please contact us for an informal chat.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.

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