Posted on 07/19/2005 11:49:28 AM PDT by Clive
TORONTO (CP) - The doctor at the centre of the tainted blood tragedy that left thousands infected with HIV and hepatitis C will know next month whether he will stand trial.
Defence lawyer Eddie Greenspan says any insinuations that Dr. Roger Perrault, the former head of the Canadian Red Cross, wants to escape justice are "dead wrong."
Greenspan says Perrault appreciates the enormity of the disaster and that if he were healthy he would stand trial "in a New York minute."
Perrault is charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm and common nuisance endangering the public.
The 68-year-old is applying for the charges to be stayed, which would effectively withdraw them without presenting evidence, because he says the stress of a year-long trial could kill him.
But James Kreppner, who was infected with HIV and hepatitis C after a blood transfusion about 20 years ago, says it's bitterly ironic that Perrault is arguing he is too sick to stand trial.
It's alleged Perrault failed to screen blood products and take adequate measures to prevent people infected with HIV-AIDS from donating blood.
More than 1,000 Canadians became infected with blood-borne HIV and up to 20,000 others contracted hepatitis C after receiving tainted blood products.
It's not clear how many people have lost their lives to tainted blood, but the death toll was 3,000 as of 1997.
It has been called the worst public health disasters to strike Canada last century.
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You got that shovel out diggin' up these old posts again, don't ya?
Well the news article said a judicial desicion would come in August 2005. This is August 2005.
This was not a little event. Those selling blood they knew was tainted should not go unpunished.
Please don't misunderstand. You'll get no argument from me on the topic at hand. I was just obliquely pointing out to you that I've always admired the way you keep track of things that might easily be forgotten and remind us of them. Thanks for that service.
Oh. That's kewl!
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