French Public Health Code
In forceVictims of injury resulting from contamination by the hepatitis B or C virus or the human T-lymphotropic virus caused by a transfusion of blood products or an injection of blood-derived medicinal products carried out in the territories to which this chapter applies shall be compensated on the basis of national solidarity by the Office mentioned in Article L. 1142-22 under the conditions laid down in the second sentence of the third paragraph of Article L. 3122-1, in the second and third paragraphs of Article L. 3122-2, in the first paragraph of Article L. 3122-3 and in Article L. 3122-4, with the exception of the second sentence of the first paragraph.
In their application for compensation, the victims or their heirs must prove that they were infected with the hepatitis B or C virus or the human T-lymphotropic virus and that they received transfusions of blood products or injections of blood-derived medicinal products. The Office investigates the circumstances of the contamination. In the case of contamination by the hepatitis C virus, this investigation is carried out under the conditions laid down in article 102 of law no. 2002-303 of 4 March 2002 on patients' rights and the quality of the healthcare system. It carries out all investigations without being bound by professional secrecy.
The offer of compensation for full reparation of the harm suffered as a result of the contamination is made to the victim under the conditions laid down in the second, third and fifth paragraphs of article L. 1142-17.
The victim has the right to take legal action against the Office if his/her claim for compensation has been rejected, if no offer has been made within six months of the date on which the Office receives full proof of the losses suffered or if he/she considers the offer insufficient.
The final settlement or the court decision on the legal action provided for in the previous paragraph constitutes a waiver of any pending legal action and renders inadmissible any other legal action seeking compensation for the same losses.
Any settlement reached between the Office and the victim, or the victim's beneficiaries, pursuant to this article may be set up against the insurer, without the insurer being able to invoke any management of the proceedings clause contained in the applicable insurance contracts, or, where applicable, against the party responsible for the damage, without prejudice to the right of the latter to contest before the court the principle of liability or the amount of the sums claimed. The Office and the Etablissement Français du Sang may also obtain reimbursement of the costs of expert appraisal. Whatever the judge's decision, the amount of compensation awarded to the victim or his heirs remains theirs.
When the Office has compensated a victim or when the third party payers have assumed responsibility for the benefits mentioned in 1 to 3 of article 29 of law no. 85-677 of 5 July 1985 aimed at improving the situation of victims of road traffic accidents and speeding up compensation procedures, they may directly request to be guaranteed for the sums they have paid or the benefits paid by the insurers of the structures taken over by the Etablissement Français du Sang by virtue of B of article 18 of law no. 98-535 of 1 July 1998 relating to the reinforcement of health monitoring and control of the safety of products intended for humans, article 60 of the amending finance law for 2000 (no. 2000-1353 of 30 December 2000) and article 14 of order no. 2005-1087 of 1 September 2005 relating to national public health establishments and disputes relating to blood transfusion, whether or not the damage suffered by the victim is attributable to a fault.
The Office and the third-party payers, subrogated to the victim's rights, benefit in the context of the action mentioned in the seventh paragraph of this article from the presumption of imputability under the conditions laid down in article 102 of law no. 2002-303 of 4 March 2002 relating to patients' rights and the quality of the healthcare system. Insurers for whom it is demonstrated that the structure they insure supplied at least one labile blood product or blood-derived medicinal product, administered to the victim, and whose safety has not been demonstrated, are jointly and severally liable to guarantee the Office and the third-party payers for all sums paid and benefits paid.
The Office and the third-party payers may not take subrogation action against the Etablissement Français du Sang, which has taken over the rights and obligations of the structures mentioned in the penultimate paragraph, if the blood establishment is not insured, if its insurance cover has been exhausted or if the period of validity of its cover has expired.
The procedures for applying this article are laid down by decree in the Conseil d'Etat.
