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Melamine-blighted families file suit
By Lydia Chen |
January 21, 2009, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE families of 213 infants who developed health problems after drinking melamine-tainted milk formula have filed a joint lawsuit with nation's highest court demanding total compensation exceeding 36 million yuan (US$5.26 million).
The parents took their complaints to the Supreme People's Court in Beijing after being repeatedly ignored by lower courts, according to their attorneys.
The suit, mailed on Friday by lawyers representing the victims' families, is directed against the 22 milk producers that were involved in one of the country's biggest food scandals in recent years, China News Service reported yesterday. Six babies died and nearly 300,000 others suffered kidney stones and urinary problems across 27 provinces after drinking formula tainted with the industrial chemical.
The lawsuit is seeking up to 500,000 yuan for each infant killed by the formula, which is more than double the 200,000 yuan in compensation offered by the milk producers. The number of infants who died among the plaintiff families was not disclosed.
The suit also demands payment of medical expenses related to the tainted milk for the rest of the victims' lives.
The 22 dairy companies, including all major domestic brands, have proposed a 1.1-billion-yuan compensation fund, but many parents want higher compensation and long-term treatment.
Children who suffered kidney stones would get 2,000 yuan each while children who experienced more serious problems would be paid 30,000 yuan, under the dairies' offer.
The one-time cash payments will total 900 million yuan. Another 200 million yuan will go to a fund set up to cover bills for any follow-on health problems until the patients turn 18.
Parents of the victims who accept the dairies' compensation are asked to sign a document that would prevent them from seeking damages through a lawsuit.
The lawyers group told China News Service that it had to turn to the highest court because it received no answers from the Higher People's Court in Hebei Province, where Sanlu Group Co, the dairy at the center of the scandal, is based.
The lawsuit was filed just one day before the parents of the first child killed in the scandal revealed to the media that they had accepted the 200,000 yuan compensation offer from Sanlu.
By taking the money last Wednesday, Yi Yongsheng and Jiao Hongfang, villagers in northwest China's Gansu Province, confirmed they had given up their right to sue the company for the death of their five-month-old son.
In fact, Yi sued Sanlu five days after his son died on May 1 at a city court in Gansu Province, seeking 1 million yuan in damages. The court did not accept his case.
The parents took their complaints to the Supreme People's Court in Beijing after being repeatedly ignored by lower courts, according to their attorneys.
The suit, mailed on Friday by lawyers representing the victims' families, is directed against the 22 milk producers that were involved in one of the country's biggest food scandals in recent years, China News Service reported yesterday. Six babies died and nearly 300,000 others suffered kidney stones and urinary problems across 27 provinces after drinking formula tainted with the industrial chemical.
The lawsuit is seeking up to 500,000 yuan for each infant killed by the formula, which is more than double the 200,000 yuan in compensation offered by the milk producers. The number of infants who died among the plaintiff families was not disclosed.
The suit also demands payment of medical expenses related to the tainted milk for the rest of the victims' lives.
The 22 dairy companies, including all major domestic brands, have proposed a 1.1-billion-yuan compensation fund, but many parents want higher compensation and long-term treatment.
Children who suffered kidney stones would get 2,000 yuan each while children who experienced more serious problems would be paid 30,000 yuan, under the dairies' offer.
The one-time cash payments will total 900 million yuan. Another 200 million yuan will go to a fund set up to cover bills for any follow-on health problems until the patients turn 18.
Parents of the victims who accept the dairies' compensation are asked to sign a document that would prevent them from seeking damages through a lawsuit.
The lawyers group told China News Service that it had to turn to the highest court because it received no answers from the Higher People's Court in Hebei Province, where Sanlu Group Co, the dairy at the center of the scandal, is based.
The lawsuit was filed just one day before the parents of the first child killed in the scandal revealed to the media that they had accepted the 200,000 yuan compensation offer from Sanlu.
By taking the money last Wednesday, Yi Yongsheng and Jiao Hongfang, villagers in northwest China's Gansu Province, confirmed they had given up their right to sue the company for the death of their five-month-old son.
In fact, Yi sued Sanlu five days after his son died on May 1 at a city court in Gansu Province, seeking 1 million yuan in damages. The court did not accept his case.
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