Release for I.U.D. claims

Press, 16 April 1986, Page 9

Release for I.U.D. claims

The Canterbury Hospital Board has agreed to release medical records for use in Daikon Shield claims.

The board yesterday reached an agreement on release of the records with the Wellington lawyer co-ordinating claims in New Zealand against the intra-uterine device’s manufacturer, A. H. Robins, of the United States.

The lawyer, Mr Michael Okkerse, has sought the release of records so that women’s claims can be evaluated in the United States Court. He said that a satisfactory had been reached with the

board. Previously the board had been prepared only to allow an accredited lawyer, with a patient’s permission, to come to the hospital and photocopy relevant parts of medical records.

Although most hospitals had now agreed to release medical records sufficient for the claim’s requirement, some, such as Ashburton Hospital, had not.

Mr Okkerse said he hoped that the agreement yesterday with the Canterbury Hospital Board would prompt Ashburton to follow suit. Mr Okkerse said that so far 350 New Zeqfend women had registered an

intention to claim, with the women’s groups working on the issue, the Health Alternatives for Women in Christchurch and Fertility Action in Auckland. Most of the intended claims had been lodged by North Islanders. Their files and records had been sent to the United States and assessed by lawyers there. Of the 125 assessed so far, 110 had been filed with the Court and as many again were expected to be filed by the Court’s deadline of April 30.

More than 200,000 women world wide had now alleged injury from the Daikon Shield, said

Mr Okkerse. A large percentage of those claims would probably not be filed because the device used was not the Daikon Shield or because the injuries were not I.U.D. related, such as cervical cancer or fibroids, he said. Once claims were filed, court procedure had to be reviewed and approved by claimants and their attorneys. When that was established, the task of proving causation and injury, and claiming for damages, could begin, said Mr Okkerse. The procedure was expected to start at the end of the»ear and take about 18 months to complete.