Plaintiffs are demanding that the government and two firms pay them 60 million yen each for failing to take measures to prevent them and their deceased relatives from contracting the brain-wasting Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, lawyers representing the plaintiffs said Tuesday.
The plaintiffs have filed the motion with the Otsu and Tokyo District courts, saying the government, B. Braun Melsungen AG, a German medical equipment manufacturer, and Japanese importer Nihon B.S.S. are responsible for the spread of CJD, the lawyers said.
The sum was calculated by taking into account the age and income of each CJD patient as well as compensation fees and their estimated losses after contracting the disease through the transplant of B. Braun Melsungen dura mater products, they said.
"We'll keep pressing the government to issue an apology and draw up measures to prevent similar incidents involving medical products," one plaintiff said.