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Elephant Man drug trial victim set to win £2m payout for injuries
Robert Mendick, Chief Reporter15 Apr 2008
A victim of the "Elephant Man" drug trial is set to receive more than £2 million for his horrific injuries, the Evening Standard can reveal.
Lawyers acting for Ryan Wilson are close to reaching a settlement with a drug testing company two years after he almost died.
Mr Wilson, 22, from Highbury, has had to have all his toes amputated and the tips of several fingers removed following the disastrous drug trial. His injuries have wrecked his career as a plumber and left him unable to work.
Mr Wilson's battle for compensation goes to an independent hearing next month at which the American company Parexel is expected to offer just over £2 million.
The six men who took the experimental pharmaceutical drug TGN 1412 suffered catastrophic organ failure. Mr Wilson suffered by far the most serious physical injuries, although the other five human "guinea pigs" are set to receive several hundred thousand pounds each following the trial at Parexel's clinic at Northwick Park Hospital on 13 March 2006.
The head of one of the men swelled so severely he was dubbed the "Elephant Man" by his girlfriend after she visited him in hospital, while others fear longterm health risks such as cancer.
Mr Wilson's lawyer Auriana Griffiths said today: "We are hopeful the case will finally settle. The case for damages will be assessed independently by a QC next month. I just hope for everybody's sake we can now wrap things up as quickly as possible.
"As to the size of Ryan's claim I cannot comment. It is confidential."
Sources have suggested that Parexel has indicated after two years of negotiation a willingness to compensate the men and that it is offering around £2 million to Mr Wilson.
But its refusal to offer a settlement earlier or to accept any blame for what went wrong has angered the men - who were each paid £2,000 to test TGN1412, billed as a possible wonder cure for arthritis, multiple sclerosis and leukaemia.
Ms Griffiths, a medical negligence partner at law firm Irwin Mitchell, said today: "It has absolutely destroyed Ryan's life. He lost all his toes and the tops of some of his fingers. He cannot walk unaided and because the skin won't heal properly on his left foot he still cannot have prosthetics fitted."
Ms Griffiths said that last month Mr Wilson underwent yet another operation to mend broken skin.
The lawyer has compiled a dossier of evidence which she claims shows that the US firm was negligent in administering the drug and in the way it behaved after the men suffered severe
reactions to it. Parexel is accused of failing to stagger the injections, which would have led to just one of the men falling ill rather than all six, and failing to offer the proper treatment once the men began to feel ill.
Instead of being given a massive dose of steroids, the men were initially given painkillers.
Mrs Griffiths said: "Our clients are
particularly frustrated that there has been no admission of liability from Parexel. They have said they are sorry for what has happened but that is not the same thing. They have never accepted responsibility for what has happened in terms of the setting up of the trial. "We have obtained evidence that is supportive of allegations of negligence
in terms of their running of the trial." The case has been made complicated by inadequate insurance cover obtained by the German company TeGenero, which is behind TGN1412 but which has since been declared insolvent. Its insurance was limited to £2 million and Parexel, which was unavailable for comment, has been reluctant until now to make up the difference.
Reader views (4)
Janet Green, why the idiotic rant?! Quote " They should get a job " The guy was a plumber, can you not read, or are you just one of these people that reads the title, checks out the picture and then voices their childish opinion!
Also "bleating about what has happened to them?", thats what sheep do when you test on them, however your not criticizing them are you, you hypocrite.
Still £2000 is £100 per finger and toe, fair deal in my book, if his head fell off then maybe he would deserve a little extra.
- Samuel Finneygan, Bromley, Kunt, 29/01/2010 18:42
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What crass and callous comments made by Janet Green. Whatever reason these men chose to go on the drugs trials, considering what has happened to them, it does not warrant a quote such as '... why are they now bleating...'!
- Robert Young, Birmingham UK, 18/11/2008 22:43
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Let us not forget, these men were not unpaid volunteers in these drugs trial. Animals in laboratories being experimented on have no choice. These people did it for what they thought was easy money. Nothing comes without a risk, so why are they now bleating about what has happened to them? They should get a proper job like the majority of us.
- Janet Green, Bromley, Kent, 16/04/2008 07:12
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Surely these individuals knew the risk when they accepted the payment to take part in the trial. They signed informed consent forms.
Although I feel very sorry for them, it is like backing a horse without knowing the possible consequences of it losing.
- Jon Jackson, London, 15/04/2008 23:08
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