Compensation
On 21 May 2024 the government accepted recommendations made by the Infected Blood Inquiry that compensation should be paid to people infected and affected by the contaminated blood scandal.
So far, £310,000 in interim compensation payments have been made to the surviving infected and £100,000 to bereaved partners. A £100,000 interim compensation payment for bereaved families who have so far received no financial recognition has been promised.
In August 2024 the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA), which will administer compensation, published the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme which sets out who is eligible for compensation and how payments are calculated.
We have received many emails and phone calls asking for help in understanding what this scheme means. There are still lots of unanswered questions about how the scheme will work and we understand that this is a very difficult and stressful time for people who believe they are entitled to compensation.
We’ve put together what we know about the scheme and made clear what still needs to be clarified. This document, which is for people with inherited bleeding disorders and their families, will be updated as and when we get more answers.
Frequently asked questions about compensation
Getting a compensation payment – how will it work?
Are you registered on a UK support scheme (England Infected Blood Support Scheme, Wales Infected Blood Support Scheme, Scottish Infected Blood Support Scheme or the Infected Blood Payment Scheme for Northern Ireland)?
If yes:
You’ll be infected or a bereaved partner.
What do I do now?
Nothing. You are in the system and will have already received at least one interim compensation payment. Your compensation settlement will be administered by the Infected Blood Compensation Authority. Further evidence may be required, depending on your individual circumstances. The information which is currently held about you by the support schemes will be transferred to IBCA.
We would expect you to be contacted by IBCA with information about your compensation claim. It is not necessary to reapply. IBCA has said it expects to start making compensation payments to the infected by the end of 2024.
If no:
You:
- have a relative who was infected who has died
- have had acute hepatitis C or chronic hepatitis B
- have a living relative who was infected.
If you have a relative who has died
What do I do now?
You can gather information to help prove that your relative was registered on a previous support scheme, such as the Skipton Fund, the Macfarlane Trust, the Caxton Fund or the Eileen Trust. These are known as the ‘Alliance House’ organisations. These historic documents are currently held by the solicitors Russell-Cooke. You can apply for your relatives’ documents by emailing [email protected]. You need to contact the relevant support scheme, ie the one in the country where the infection happened, to inform them that you are doing this. If documents are found to show previous support your family’s details will be added to the support scheme’s database. Contact details of all UK schemes are here.
If you believe your loved one was registered on these schemes but are not sure if the information is held by IBSS schemes, check directly with the scheme. Please ensure that the support schemes have your current details.
If there is no information held on your loved one you will need to find medical records. Contact NHS Trusts where treatment took place as well as GPs. There may be some information stored on the National Haemophilia database which you can apply to see. This is only for inherited bleeding disorders.
Interim compensation for bereaved families
There will be an interim compensation payment of £100,000 made to bereaved families where no compensation has yet been received. Please note that if an interim compensation payment has already been awarded to a bereaved partner, for example, there will be no further interim compensation payment made to the estate.
Registration for this interim compensation payment will open in late October 2024. The payment will be handled by a new service called the Infected Blood Interim Compensation Payment Scheme. We await more details on how this will work.
For families whose relatives were not supported by previous schemes the interim compensation payment will be administered by the Infected Blood Compensation Authority and it is unlikely to be processed before the end of this year.
You have acute hepatitis C or chronic hepatitis B
What do I do now?
Your infections are recognised by the compensation scheme but the application process has not started. We advise you to gather as much evidence about your infection as possible. It is not yet clear what proof will be needed to join the compensation scheme.
You have a living relative who was infected
What do I do now?
Registration has not opened for ‘affected’ people. Under the scheme those affected who are eligible to apply for compensation will be parents, partners, carers, children, stepchildren and siblings (if they were aged under 18 when their relative was infected). Until we know what proof you need to show to qualify for compensation there is no action to take.
Estates
What does the compensation scheme mean when it talks about an ‘estate’?
This is what is due to a person who was infected and has died. Compensation paid to this person will be defined as their estate. If they left a will, the compensation will be divided as directed by the instructions in the will. The process will be overseen by the executor of the will, who is referred to by the scheme as the ‘personal representative’. This person may apply for compensation on behalf of the deceased infected person.
Please explain probate or confirmation
When an adult dies, their assets, such as property and financial affairs must be settled. This process of administering the estate is called probate in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or confirmation in Scotland. Probate or confirmation is a legal document that is sometimes needed to access bank accounts or other official documents.
What happens if there is no will?
If someone has died without a will, this is known as dying ‘intestate’. In this situation the compensation will be paid to the deceased legal next of kin, as defined by the government. https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will
To claim compensation, probate without a will is needed so an application must be made to the court before the legal administration of the estate can begin. The person responsible for administering the estate is called the administrator, and they need to apply for a document called a Grant of Letters of Administration.
What if the person who died was a child?
The compensation sum would be payable to the child’s parents or legal guardians.
How do we find out if the deceased left a will?
There is a National Wills Register, but this will only show up wills where probate has been granted. Sometimes wills were left with local solicitors which could still be worth trying.
Support schemes and compensation
The compensation scheme offers people currently registered on a UK infected blood support scheme the chance to continue payments or to take everything as a lump sum. There are a number of things to consider when weighing up what to do.
I’m infected and on a support scheme. What are my options?
You can continue to receive your annual payments for the remainder of your life which will increase in line with the Consumer Price Index. Although your regular payments will remain broadly the same, you will receive a smaller compensation lump sum. This is because your future financial loss award and future care awards are incorporated into your support payments. The lump sum is payable immediately or over 5,10 and 25 years, depending on your preference.
When you receive notification of your settlement from IBCA it will include both options with a breakdown of how each figure was calculated. It is very important that you look at the short-term and long-term implications of each option before deciding what is best for you and your family.
If I select a lump sum, can I rejoin the support schemes in the future?
No.
If I select a lump sum and die, will my partner get payments from a support scheme?
This has not been clearly set out, but we do not think bereaved partners would be eligible to rejoin the support schemes in this scenario.
I’m a bereaved partner, what are my options?
You will continue to receive support payments for life, if you choose to do so. The lump sum you receive will depend on whether you are the beneficiary of the deceased person’s estate. You will be able to make an individual claim as an affected person.
What does core route mean?
All successful claimants will have a core element as part of their compensation payout. This is based on five categories of award which are:
- Injury
- Social Impact
- Autonomy
- Care
- Financial Loss
You can see the proposed financial awards here
Supplementary route
This is a potential avenue to increase autonomy, financial loss and care awards.
Who’s eligible for supplementary awards?
There are four main areas:
- People who can demonstrate that the financial awards do not reflect the earnings lost due to infection.
- Those who can show that the care needs were above what was set out in their core award.
- Claimants who fit into the category called health impact groups. This includes people who have the Special Category Mechanism (SCM) or equivalent as recognised by the UK infected blood support schemes, as well as people with other health impacts associated with their infections or treatment.
- People with bleeding disorders who were involved in illegal or unethical trials.
How do I prove I’m eligible for the supplementary awards?
For loss of earnings, you will need evidence of above average earnings and of early medical retirement. There will be a cap on financial loss awards, which has not been specified.
Evidence will also need to be shown for extra care needs as well as associated health conditions. The recognised health conditions linked to either HIV, hepatitis C or hepatitis B infections listed by the scheme are:
- Severe visual impairment
- Neurological disorders resulting in long-term severe physical or mobility disability (e.g. cerebral toxoplasmosis resulting in severe stroke)
- Neurological disorders resulting in long-term severe neurocognitive impairment (e.g. HIV-associated dementia; chronic hepatic encephalopathy related to Hepatitis C/B)
- Severe psychiatric disorders (e.g. diagnosed psychiatric disorders requiring inpatient care or prolonged psychiatric treatment under the care of specialist mental health services)
- Other hepatic disorders caused by Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C resulting in long-term severe disability
- End-stage kidney disease requiring renal replacement therapy
Where the applicant is already recognised as receiving SCM or its equivalents by UK support schemes we expect that no further proof will be required.
How do I prove infection date?
The scheme currently bases some calculations on the ‘date of infection’. This should not be confused with the date of the first test. We are currently tying to establish clarification from IBCA on how the date of infection can be established and what proof is required.
In the absence of absolute proof, we believe it is reasonable that the date should be taken from the first treatment with a pooled factor product, including cryoprecipitate.
Multiple claims
Some people will be entitled to make more than one claim. For example, someone infected may also be affected if another family member was infected. In other cases, people may have more than one affected claim if multiple family members were infected.
In those cases, people will have a primary award as an affected or infected person. Then if they make further claims as an affected person then additional injury awards will be paid (and additional financial loss in some circumstances), but they won’t get multiple autonomy or social impact awards.
Inheritance tax and benefits
Compensation payments will not be subject to tax and will not be considered when calculating if someone is eligible for state benefits.
However, if a compensation payment is invested, the interest from that investment would be taxed. What remains after tax is considered to be ‘capital’.
Interest will be treated as an increase in savings which would need to be declared to the benefits office, once this goes over £6,000 it can start to impact means-tested benefits.
There are certain investments which accrue growth and interest within the wrapper of the investment and therefore probably wouldn’t need to be declared, but we’d recommend you seek guidance from a trusted financial adviser about this.
What happens in the event of death?
If an eligible infected person dies after accepting their offer of compensation but before receiving their payment, their compensation award will be paid to the personal representative of their estate.
If an eligible infected person dies before accepting their offer of compensation, their personal representatives will need to start a new application – IBCA will use evidence which supported the original application so that it does not have to be provided again.
If an eligible infected person is in receipt of regular support payments and/or compensation payment instalments at the time of their death, their support payments will stop and the outstanding balance of their total compensation award will be paid to the personal representative of their estate.
The rules are different for affected persons. Should an eligible affected person die during the application process to the scheme, their compensation would not be paid.
What happens if my condition deteriorates?
The scheme is clear that a reassessment following a health deterioration will be possible at any time, regardless of the time that has passed since a person’s initial assessment.
Do I need a legal representative?
This is a personal decision, but we would stress that the compensation scheme has been designed to be accessed without legal representation. The compensation offer you receive from IBCA will not be affected by lobbying from lawyers. However, if you choose to challenge the settlement in the courts, then you will need to be represented by a lawyer. We urge all our members to be very careful if you are considering hiring a lawyer. Personal recommendations are always best. There are a lot of firms touting for business who may not have your best interests at heart and may promise compensation amounts which are exaggerated or unsubstantiated.
What happens if I disagree with the award?
When you receive your compensation settlement offer from IBCA you will have three months to respond. If you are dissatisfied with the outcome you have the right to a review and the right to an appeal subject to time limits.
In the first instance, there is an internal procedure where you have the right to review your application directly with IBCA before submitting an appeal application. If the outcome of the internal review is not what you wanted, you will be able to appeal the decision through the First-tier Tribunal, administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service.
Rights to litigation
Accepting compensation does not mean you can’t pursue litigation through the courts. However, any compensation received through the courts would be deducted from money awarded through IBCA’s compensation scheme.
When will I get my compensation?
IBCA has said that it wants to begin payments by the end of this year, which are likely to start with people who are infected and registered on a UK infected blood support scheme. We do not think claims on behalf of estates and affected will be paid until 2025 and potentially beyond.