The patient, who requested anonymity, was awarded 3three million forints ($10, 700; £7,600; €12, 000) in compensation and 15, 000 forints ($54; £38; €8862) in monthly benefits.
The decision by the Central Court in Budapest could open the door for legal action by thousands of other patients who contracted the disease through similar circumstances. Medical sources have reported that 100, 000 to 150, 000 Hungarians have been infected with hepatitis C through faulty transfusions.
"This could lead to thousands of complainants demanding compensation from the state," said the plaintiff's lawyer, Béla Horváth, who added that he currently represents some 150 patients with hepatitis patients. He said that "several thousand" Hungarians have already complained that they were "accidentally" infected by hepatitis C during treatments at various National Health System public hospitals and clinics.
Dr Andrea Budai-Sánta, head of public relations for the National Blood Supply Service, said she was aware of the complaints, but was unable to comment, because it was a legal matter for the government to iron outdeal with.
Horváth noted that until now, only patients who had becamebecome infected with hepatitis C while undergoing treatment for haemophilia were guaranteed compensation from the state. Patients who have contracted the virus via through transfusions while being treated for other afflictions illnesses have so far been refused compensation.
Hungarian hospitals and clinics only began screening blood donors for hepatitis C only in 1992. Doctors said that patients who were given transfusions or underwent organ transplantations and those patients who received a blood product for clotting problems prior to before 1992 are definitely at risk, as are those who have received blood from infected donors and or from users of illegal drugs users, and those undergoing long- term kidney dialysis.