Thalidomide compensation battle goes on
March 23rd, 2008Fifty years after the drug was launched in Britain, survivors are still fighting for compensation from its German makers
An extended feature in the [London] Sunday Times about the drug that caused deformities among thousands of children whose mothers took it while pregnant.
The survivors are approaching 50th birthdays that many thought they would never see. Yet it is still difficult to predict when — or if — they will be adequately compensated for their “man-made” condition. They are seeking payments from Grünenthal, the German company that produced the drug and sold it around the world.
“This is bigger than 9/11 [in terms of the numbers affected], but it’s not sexy because we weren’t all killed or maimed on the same day,” said Gary Skyner, who was born with a short left arm and no thumbs. “And now we’re older and uglier, people don’t want to know.”


