The Supreme Court of Victoria in Australia has ruled that the Australian and New Zealand-based applicants involved in a class action lawsuit against the drug manufacturer Grunenthal can have the case heard in their own country. The drug manufacturer had requested that that proceedings take place in Germany, because the company and many of the witnesses are located there.
The applicants claim that the drug thalidomide, produced by the company caused birth defects during their pregnancies as it was dispensed to pregnant women during the 1950s and 1960s as a antidote for morning sickness. One of the applicants, Lynette Rowe, the leading party in the lawsuit was born without arms or legs as her mother took thalidomide during her pregnancy. The class is made up of Australians born between 1 January 1958 and 31 December 1970.
The lawsuit claims that Grunenthal, the drug manufacturer should have been aware that thalidomide was associated with birth defects. Thalidomide cases have been widely reported over the years across the world where cases have been settled for millions of dollars.
Law firms Gordon Legal and Slater & Gordon, who are representing the class action applicants, says that it is believed to be the first time that Grunenthal has had to face court outside Germany.
Click here to see the judgment in full.
Click here to see a piece by the Guardian.
Click here to read a feature piece on the background to the case from Melbourne's The Age newspaper.