Ten victims of a problematic antibiotic injection that has
caused 11 deaths throughout China, on Monday filed a civil lawsuit
to the Shanghai Pudong District People's Court, asking compensation
over 2.8 million yuan (US$357,896). The court didn't comment on the
case being accepted or not, the Shanghai Morning Post
reported on December 5.
A six-year-old girl Liu Sichen, from Harbin, capital of
northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, died on July 27,
becoming the first victim of the antibiotic known as clindamycin
phosphate glucose injection. Known as Xinfu in Chinese, it was
produced by Anhui Huayuan Worldbest Biology Pharmacy Co., a
subsidiary of Shanghai Worldbest Co. Ltd. Her father Liu Yong filed
the case against the above two companies and their parent company
China Worldbest Group Co. Ltd, asking for compensation of 139,204
yuan (US$17,798), and for the accused to apologize through the
media.
Attorney for the victims Chen Yongfei told the Shanghai
Morning Post that Xinfu injections killed 11 people and that
421 others suffered from severe side-effects. Chen is representing
the 10 victims in the case, including survivors and families
members of that were killed, asking for compensation ranging from
40,000 (US$5112.8) to 1.3 million yuan (US$166,166), totaling 2.8
million yuan (US$357,896).
The State Food and Drug Administration has issued a nationwide
ban on the injection and ordered the drug's maker, Anhui Huayuan
Worldbest Biology Pharmacy Co., to recall all doses of Xinfu after
it was found that a batch had been improperly sterilized.
The attorney for the companies, Li Hongqi, said the Worldbest
Group was seeking compensation agreements with the victims but that
no result had been reached. "Litigation is the right of the
victims, we will respect their choice. We will obey what the court
rules," Li said.
Liu Yong revealed that the company didn't even contact him after
his daughter was killed by the injection of Xinfu.
Wang Guobiao, uncle of another victim Du Haipeng, told the
Shanghai Morning Post that the company was contacted in
October after the drug's status became known but he was blithely
ignored and received no compensation. There was no comment on this
from the Worldbest Group.
(China.org.cn by Zhang Yunxing, December 6, 2006)