The Paris Court of Appeal issues its decision on Wednesday, six months after the end of the trial. The Servier laboratory, which marketed this antidiabetic drug for more than thirty years, also prescribed as an appetite suppressant, was notably judged for aggravated deception, homicide and involuntary injuries.
From now on, Lucile Lefèvre is always stressed when she takes her medication. “I wonder what will happen to me. Besides, lately I’ve been very out of breath. Hard, hard…”, she confides to franceinfo. This sixty-year-old is one of the victims of Mediator, which she took for several years to treat her diabetes. This medication, also prescribed as an appetite suppressant, was marketed by the Servier laboratory from 1976 until its withdrawal from sale in 2009. It caused serious cardiovascular lesions in thousands of patients, the majority of them women. The Mediator is also held responsible for hundreds of deaths, even thousands, according to various legal expertises.
At first instance, on March 29, 2021, the Paris criminal court found the Servier laboratory guilty of aggravated deception, as well as involuntary homicide and involuntary injury. But he acquitted him of the crime of fraud. The Paris prosecutor’s office therefore appealed this partial acquittal and Servier decided to contest his conviction, which led to a new trial. This new hearing was held from January to June. Six months later, the Paris Court of Appeal must render a decision on Wednesday December 20 in the afternoon which will be decisive for certain compensation procedures.
The risk of having to repay the amounts collected
Thus, Lucile Lefèvre, who has become a civil party, awaits the judgment of the court of appeal with apprehension. Because at the end of the first trial, Servier was ordered to pay a fine of 2.7 million euros, accompanied by provisional execution. The laboratory therefore had to immediately pay all of the compensation to the 7,650 people who became civil parties. Most for “deception about the dangerousness of the product having generated anxiety damage”, that is to say the anxiety of seeing diseases linked to Mediator appear in the future. This is the case of Lucile Lefèvre.
However, if an acquittal is pronounced on appeal, the civil parties could find themselves obliged to reimburse these sums, which range between 10,000 and 60,000 euros per person in the “deception” aspect. They range from 180,000 to 1.5 million euros for unintentional injuries and manslaughter. “I warned my clients: ‘Be careful, put this money in an account and don’t touch it'”, underlines to franceinfo Christophe Donnette, lawyer for around twenty victims of Mediator in Hauts-de-France, including Lucile Lefèvre. But his client did not follow his advice. “I spent the entire amount to pay a person who helped me on a daily basis. Especially since I have a small pension,” testifies this disabled woman, victim of two road accidents. “We will never return the money! It’s our due”she insists.
Servier’s conviction can just as well be confirmed on appeal, as required by the general prosecutor’s office, which demanded a fine of 13.5 million euros against the laboratory and the “confiscation” of its profit linked to Mediator, or 182 million euros, according to its calculations. However, if the conviction is confirmed, this sum will not be paid to the victims, but to the French State. “It would be a sanction that would send a strong message”, underlines Jean-Christophe Coubris, who represents 3,618 civil parties. The lawyer is one of those who requested, during the appeal trial, up to 200,000 euros per victim for moral damage linked to the deception and up to 50,000 euros for anxiety damage.
Another open amicable procedure
However, not all of Mediator’s victims made it to trial. Some have even agreed to waive criminal action in exchange for compensation from Servier. The laboratory, contacted by franceinfo, refers to its statement dated November 30: 4,337 patients received an offer of compensation from Servier, for a total amount of 258.7 million euros, the majority of which (224.3 million) has already been paid.
To claim this, victims of Mediator must complete a form with the National Office for Compensation for Medical Accidents (Oniam). “The persons concerned must provide medical evidence demonstrating total or partial incapacity”, underlines Oniam on its website. This is an amicable procedure, a specific system, with a dedicated public fund, set up by the law of July 29, 2011, “which may be preferred to random, longer and not free legal action”.
Oniam told franceinfo that it had received, as of September 30, 10,175 requests from people who believed they had been victims of the Mediator. It is then up to a panel of experts to rule on each case. This body has so far issued 38% favorable opinions for compensation. It is after this expertise that the Servier laboratory offers the victims concerned amicable offers of compensation. However, victims can also ask Oniam to replace Servier if they believe that the laboratories’ offer is not high enough. But there are very few requests in this direction, according to the office. For its part, Servier lists 145 offers refused by patients.
A new trial to come for other victims
“There are still a very large number of people who are not informed about the procedure, or who do not consider any compensation”, regrets Jean-Christophe Coubris. The lawyer welcomes a ruling from the Court of Cassation dated November 15, which gives more time to victims of defective medication to seek civil compensation for their bodily injury. “The limitation period for the request is ten years from the consolidation of the victim, that is to say the stability of his state of health, but not his recovery. This is specific to each patient”, develops the lawyer. This also allows you to avoid waiting for a distant criminal trial.
Because the Mediator affair has not finished its long legal journey. Some 5,000 other cases for homicides or involuntary injuries are still being investigated by the Paris prosecutor’s office. Six months ago, half had been assessed as part of this gigantic investigation. This opens the way for a second Mediator trial in the coming years. And, potentially, new compensation for the victims concerned.