Dr. Roger Perrault Posted on 02/06/2006 2:54:12 PM PST by neverdem
Dr. Roger Perrault
The trial of the doctor at the centre of the tainted blood scandal is set to begin Monday after months of legal wrangling and delays.
Dr. Roger Perrault, former national medical director of the Canadian Red Cross, faces criminal charges for his alleged role in allowing hemophilia patients to receive tainted blood products in the 1980s and early 1990s.
The incident is widely considered to be Canada's worst medical disaster of the last century.
More than 1,000 Canadians were infected with HIV and as many as 20,000 contracted hepatitis C after receiving the blood.
It's not clear how many people have died as a result, but the death toll was 3,000 as of 1997.
Perrault, 68, and other medical officials at the Red Cross and Health Canada have been accused of failing to screen blood products and not stopping people with HIV from donating blood.
Perrault has been charged with four counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and one count of common nuisance endangering the public.
His trial in Toronto could last for several months.
Heart attacks
Lawyers for Perrault tried to convince the court that he wasn't well enough to stand trial. Perrault has had two heart attacks and open heart surgery.
Perrault's lawyer, Edward Greenspan, argued the stress of a trial could place unbearable strain on his client and kill him.
But in August 2005, Justice Mary Lou Benotto rejected the arguments, saying Perrault had failed to show that the court proceeding would likely pose a "real or substantial" risk to his health.
John Plater, president of Hemophilia Ontario, said Perrault's trial will test the accountability of the government and the health-care system.
"It's important that we see what the courts are prepared to do in terms of (acting) when government regulators ... don't do their jobs properly," said Plater, who is a hemophiliac, HIV-positive and has hepatitis C.
"It'll be a reminder to people in the system that that's how important what they do is, and that's the kind of scrutiny they're under."
Apology
Control of the Canadian blood supply was taken away from the Red Cross, and Canadian Blood Services was established in 1998.
In May 2005, the Canadian Red Cross apologized and pleaded guilty to violating the Food and Drug Regulation Act by distributing tainted blood products between 1983 and 1990.
Charges of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and common nuisance were withdrawn in exchange for the guilty plea.
The charity paid a $5,000 fine and agreed to give $1.5 million to the University of Ottawa for a research endowment fund and scholarship for the families of those affected.
Greetings and thanks for the ping!
What kept you? My niece's husband has had one aloft for years. :-)
Great Dane and liliana, we miss you, hope all is well with you. Come by and say hello!
clintons not part of this specific trial. this one is the focus of allowing a company to continue to sell a product that knowingly had AIDS contamination. The Arkansas prison blood scandal is still (after over 5 years) still being investigated by the RCMP. I can only hope that charges are laid soon so we CAN talk about who played the lead roles in allowing poison to be sent around the world!
bump!
Is anyone catching up with Tommy? Is he still around?
Hope Martin gets his some day.
Note sent to John with offer of help.
This is from the Arizona Revised Statutes. Title 31,
This LAW website posted this on Sept. 4, 2005!
This was posted only SIX MONTHS AGO! HOW CAN THIS BE????? These blood programs were allegedly all stopped in 1994!!!!
Please tell me I am somehow reading this wrong????!!!!!
I think I am seriously going to be ill, here!
http://www.keytlaw.com/az/ars/arstitle31.htm
Article 10 Prisoner Participation in Medical Research and Plasmapheresis and Whole Blood Programs
31-321 Prisoner participation in approved programs
31-322 Approval of programs
31-323 Compensation for prisoner participation in approved programs; trust fund or retention account
~~~~~~~
31-321 says:
31-321. Prisoner participation in approved programs
A. Any prisoner with the written consent of the director and the chief of health services may volunteer to participate in an approved program of medical research or plasmapheresis and whole blood program.
B. Before consenting to participate in the program, the chief of health services and a representative of the person, firm or corporation conducting the program shall advise the prisoner of the nature of the program and the dangers, if any, which may result by reason of such participation.
C. The consent of any prisoner to participate in the program shall be evidenced in writing and as a condition precedent to a prisoner's participation the prisoner shall release the state, the director and the chief of health services from any and all liability for claims arising out of the prisoner's participation in the program.
~~~~~~
31-322 says:
31-322. Approval of programs
A. Any person, firm or corporation desiring to conduct a program of medical research or plasmapheresis and whole blood program employing prisoners shall submit to the director a written proposal containing a detailed statement of the purpose and nature of the proposed program.
B. The director shall submit any proposal received pursuant to subsection A to the chief of health services for review and recommendation.
C. Upon a favorable recommendation from the chief of health services, the director may approve the proposed program subject to such conditions as the director or the chief of health services may prescribe.
D. The director may grant to the person, firm or corporation conducting an approved program of medical research or plasmapheresis and whole blood program a revocable license to enter upon the state prison and conduct the approved program.
I cannot believe that they are still taking prisoner blood.
I've looked further at this legislation. Look at this...
SINCE WHEN is BLOOD considered "Products of individual prisoner enterprise, hobby, craft or art [that] may be marketed to the public."?????????????????
Anon...
~~~~~
31-323 says:
31-323. Compensation for prisoner participation in approved programs; trust fund or retention account
A. An approved program of medical research or plasmapheresis and whole blood program may provide for the payment of compensation to participating prisoners.
B. Proceeds from prisoner participation in approved programs shall be paid into the trust fund or retention account established by the director pursuant to section 31-261, subsection B.
~~~~~
31-261, subsection B says:
Article 4 Products of Prisoners
31-261 Sale or exchange of products of individual prisoners
31-261. Sale or exchange of products of individual prisoners
A. Products of individual prisoner enterprise, hobby, craft or art may be marketed to the public.
B. The director is authorized to establish a trust fund, or retention account, for the administration of the marketing programs prescribed by the terms of subsection A of this section or participation in other approved programs, the proceeds of which shall be distributed to the special service fund and the contributing prisoner's account. The fund shall be separate from funds appropriated by the legislature to department support and maintenance.
C. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 31-204, the provision for marketing products of prisoner or inmate ingenuity, skill or patent, as prescribed by the terms of this section, shall be permitted under formal rules to be published by the director.
A woman that we know from Abbotsford, BC, just died of hepatitic C that she contracted from Clinton tainted blood.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.