Devastated by the loss of his daughter to COVID-19, Jaime Michaus has joined hundreds of Mexicans seeking compensation from China and the WHO, despite reservations and uncertain prospects of success.
“I’m still not sure if I did the right thing,” Michaus said.
“I have mixed feelings because it seems like I’m profiting from the death of my daughter,” who died aged 25 in July, leaving behind a one-month-old baby, he said.
“No amount of money is going to bring her back, but I’m doing it for the future of my granddaughter,” the 63-year-old retiree said, estimating that he has a 50 percent chance of winning.
Michaus has signed an international legal claim against China and the WHO promoted by Buenos Aires-based Poplavsky International Law Offices.
The firm woos potential clients on social media in Mexico with the slogan: “Did you suffer from COVID-19? Know your rights.”
“These claims are being submitted due to the negligence of both China and the WHO in the management of COVID-19,” said Denisse Gonzalez, Poplavsky’s representative in Mexico.
The firm, which has branches in Latin America, the US and Dubai, said that it has also signed up claimants in other countries, including Colombia and Argentina, although Gonzalez did not divulge how many.
The claims, amounting to millions of US dollars, are presented to the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, alleging violations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
They seek financial compensation ranging from US$200,000 for falling ill with COVID-19 to US$800,000 in the case of death, Gonzalez said.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday defended the organization’s early response to the initial COVID-19 outbreak, saying that its health emergency system had “immediately swung into action.”
“I had never suffered from high blood pressure and now it goes up and down, which is dangerous,” said a 35-year-old gas station employee who is also seeking compensation after catching the virus.
“I was left with ringing in one ear. My vision was also blurry and I have to wear glasses,” said the woman, who did not want to be named.
Poplavsky said that its fees are to be covered by a percentage of any compensation.
Michaus declined to reveal the percentage that he had agreed to pay in the event of a win, but said that he considered it to be fair.
The law firm believes that the claims could take at least five years to resolve.
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