All but one of the 18 plaintiffs in a lawsuit over hepatitis C infections caused by tainted blood products filed an appeal Tuesday of a court ruling that ordered the government and two drugmakers to pay damages to only some of those infected.
One plaintiff, a woman in her 50s from Fukuoka Prefecture, was among those whose demands were turned down, but she decided not to join the appeal to focus on her treatment, lawyers for the plaintiffs said.
The government has already appealed the original ruling by the Fukuoka District Court.
It ordered the government, Mitsubishi Pharma Corp. and its subsidiary Benesis Corp. to pay a combined 168 million yen in damages to 11 of the 18 plaintiffs who contracted hepatitis after being treated with tainted blood products in the 1970s and 1980s.