The Third Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice sentenced the State to pay 25,000 to three victims of the mass poisoning by diethylene glycol that occurred in the Social Security Fund (CSS) in 2006.
These are the first three substantive rulings related to the non-contractual civil liability of the State, explained the Judicial Branch in a statement issued by Judge María Cristiana Chen, who was the rapporteur of the ruling and, in addition, is the president of the Supreme Court of Justice.
The ruling not only contemplates financial compensation, but also imposes unprecedented ethical and symbolic reparation measures, such as the construction of monuments and a public apology from the CSS.
The three victims who benefited from the ruling, which responds to the lawsuit filed by lawyer Víctor Orobio, are: Juan Antonio Cisneros Morán, Yackeline del Carmen Reyes Anderson and Cindy del Carmen Guillén Casian.
Judge Chen’s statement explains that, of the 472 lawsuits filed against the State, 82% (387 processes) have already reached the merits stage as of March 2026.
The court determined that the mere ingestion of a defective medication manufactured in the CSS Drug Production Laboratory is sufficient to presume “objective moral damage.” Under the criteria of the 100 Rules of Brasilia on vulnerability, the Court applied a flexible evidentiary assessment to recognize the emotional and physiological affectation of the plaintiffs.
Beyond the economic, the ruling orders the CSS to carry out actions to restore the dignity of the victims, such as public apologies. The institution must apologize in writing to the victims, who must remain on the institutional website and on social networks for one month; In addition, an official statement must be issued to the media.
Likewise, it orders the construction of a monument and a commemorative plaque with the names of all the recognized victims at the headquarters of the City of Health, as well as another plaque at the facilities where the Drug Production Laboratory operated.
The CSS must also include in its web portal an exclusive section for diethylene glycol cases that includes an interactive map by province, allowing each patient to know the procedural status of their claim.
The lawsuit filed by Osorio sought compensation of $6 million in damages.
The Third Chamber assessed the amounts that the three victims have received for the lifetime pensions approved by the Executive.
