Thalidomide Sequel

No sum of money can ever compensate a child for having been born without arms, without legs, or with invisible and irremediable defects in his heart. But money can at least ease the incredibly difficult and costly task of training such a child to develop fully the use of his limited powers. Last week the German manufacturers of thalidomide, the most disastrous drug in medical history, recognized that fact. As compensation to the parents of all the thalidomide-deformed children surviving in West Germany, they offered a lump-sum settlement totaling 100 million marks ($27.3 million).

Executives of Chemie Gruenenthal GMBH had been on trial for 20 months in a suit brought by the West German government in behalf of the parents and children. In a courtroom improvised from a miners' hall in Alsdorf, near Aachen, company lawyers had been skillfully using delaying moves in an apparent effort to wear down the plaintiffs. Their efforts seemed to be paying off; by last week, few of the aggrieved parents were bothering to attend the monotonous hearings. But time was also working against Gruenenthal. Its key executives had been confined to the courtroom for 200 trial days, unable to attend to business. Also, the setting aside of a large sum of money for possible settlement costs reduced the funds available for research and development. Clearly, it was time for new tactics.

In exchange for being released from further risks and liability from parents' suits related to thalidomide, Chemie Gruenenthal offered the 100 million marks for "the children." The company did not specify which children, in the hope of avoiding even tacit admission that any had been specifically damaged by thalidomide. In fact, no one was certain how many children would be covered by the proposed settlement. Some put the number of surviving thalidomide victims at only 2,000, which would mean an average settlement of about $13,000 each. Other counts put the number at more than 3,000, for an average settlement of only $9,000. In England, by comparison, two severe cases of thalidomide crippling have been awarded almost $50,000 each. But in the light of the desperate plight of the parents, and to avoid more litigious delays, the West German court was expected to approve the company's proposal.

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