Status of Awards and Legal Rights
Infected Blood Inquiry · Second Interim Report · Issued 5 April 2023 · Addressed to: UK Government
Government responseUK Government: Accepted (Dec 2024)
DeliveryNo statement from UK Government found
Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
I recommend that, with reference to the status of awards: a) eligible infected and affected persons should not be required to accept the offer of an award in full and final settlement of any right to pursue legal actions related to the infection; b) any accepted scheme award should be set off against any entitlement to damages for the same subject matter; c) the availability of an award under the scheme should be a factor to which the court could have regard when determining liability for costs in any court proceedings related to the infection.
Infected Blood Inquiry, Second Interim Report · 5 Apr 2023 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
AI-generated evidence summary
The UK Government stated in December 2024 that acceptance of an award does not require applicants to waive their right to pursue litigation, and that infected persons may return to IBCA for reassessment at any time if their condition deteriorates following an initial assessment (Cabinet Office response, Dec 2024). The record holds no update since the UK Government's response of December 2024 (Cabinet Office response, Dec 2024).
Sources
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026.
Government response
●UK Government · Accepted · 17 Dec 2024
In line with recommendations 9 and 10 of the Second Interim Report, acceptance of an award does not require applicants to waive their right to pursue litigation. In defined circumstances, if an infected person's condition deteriorates after their compensation award has been assessed, they will be able to return to IBCA for reassessment to determine whether they are eligible for an additional compensation payment. A reassessment following a health deterioration will be possible at any time, regardless of the time that has passed since a person's initial assessment.
Extract from: Government response to the Infected Blood Inquiry
Delivery
No statement on delivery from UK Government has been found in the sources searched. This is separate from the response above.
How this page is built
The recommendation and the government responses are verbatim from primary documents. Delivery statements and other bodies' findings are shown in their own words, each with its source. The summary is written by this site and labelled as such. The Index does not paraphrase sources or characterise intent; it records what has been published.