If the ongoing stock market crisis since the outbreak of the pandemic wasn’t enough, Grifols is opening up a new frontier in the United States. The plasma derivatives firm has lost 75% of its value in the markets in two and a half years and has been forced to replace its chairman to satisfy the wealth of its shareholders. Collective lawsuits from at least 54,000 donors have now been added to the fall. Collection centers may have more blood in the state of Illinois for violating their privacy.
A group of affected people condemned that when they visited extraction points they were forced to provide their fingerprints in a database that was used to track donations. According to him, the practice violated his rights as it was not authorized by him, did not destroy the information collected and exceeded the specific purpose for which it was recorded.
Victims have been taking this matter to court for months and He recently received a judgment in his favor in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.: Magistrate ignored Grifols’ arguments and assured that the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act takes precedence over rules related to plasma collection.
The company argued that the US Drugs Agency (FDA) is required to maintain a registry of donors, but the court ruled that a photograph was sufficient and rejected that fingerprints better identify people than other methods. . Further, it indicated that the signed forms did not contain information on the reason and the period for which the biometric information was stored.
Grifols reports that more than 54,000 will be affected by the collection of the information investigated.
That way, those affected already have free rein to file a class action lawsuit; A process that is different from Spanish in the United States. Gerald L., partner specializing in class action lawsuits at the American law firm Duane Morris. Mattman explains that elEconomista.es How it works: “To start the process, at least 40 affected people are needed and once the court accepts the case, all affected people are covered for a period of five years ”
In its financial statements, Grifols has already indicated the amounts it may face. The charge is against three group companies collecting plasma in the state.: Telecris (5 establishments), Interstate Blood (2) and Biomat (3). According to the listed company, 54,000 will be affected by Biomat alone. “Interstate blood banks have also been added to the suit and potential donor numbers are being looked at,” he explained in the latest semi-annual accounts. It says nothing about Telecris. That way, if volumes are maintained, this figure could easily exceed the affected 100,000.
Under state law, the fine would be between $1,000 per person if the violation was accidental and $5,000 per person if proven willful. Thus, acceptances could range from $54 million to around €55 million at the current exchange rate—$270 million to €274.5 million—if only the 54,000 quantified plaintiffs are taken into account. When the donors of the rest of the subsidiaries are counted, the amount can easily be doubled. “Based on the facts of the case, I think the alleged violations in this case were unintentional and a lower damages figure would be attached,” Matman says.
A recent sentence complicates the treaty
In the case of going to trial, it will be a jury that must determine the company’s innocence or guilt. For this reason, until now, both Plaintiff and Defendant had avoided going to hearings and all processes affecting Illinois biometric privacy law were resolved with an agreement between the parties.
However, the first trial under this rule was held in September. Up to 45,000 activists rose against BNSF railways -Controlled by Warren Buffett- To fraudulently take their fingerprints. The court agreed with the plaintiffs and sentenced the company to a fine of $228 million – about 232 million euros at current exchange rates – upon determining that the violation was intentional.
“This ruling will inevitably prompt plaintiff’s attorneys to raise their demands for a pre-trial settlement in all such suits,” Mattman said.
