The HCV Late Claims Benefit Plan (Late Claims Plan) is a compensation plan created under the 1986-1990 Hepatitis C Settlement in 2018 for people who received blood transfusions or blood products through the Canadian blood system in the period January 1, 1986 to July 1, 1990 and contracted Hepatitis C (HCV) and who did not apply for compensation under the Transfused HCV Plan or Hemophiliac HCV Plan before the deadline for most claims under those Plans expired in 2010.

Note: It may still be possible for persons infected with HCV, their estate, family members or dependants to file a claim under the Transfused HCV Plan or the Hemophiliac HCV Plan created in 2000, including if you have recently been diagnosed with HCV, you have recently reached your age of majority, or the HCV Infected Person who was already approved under those Plans has recently died. Go to www.hepc8690.ca or contact the Claims Administrator for more information about options that may still be available and the deadlines that will still apply to these various claims.

Making a late claim under the Late Claims Plan is in most cases* a two-step process:

• first filing a request for permission to file a late claim before March 31, 2025 in which you provide your explanation for why you missed the original deadline in 2010; and
  
  
• then if the court-appointed referee accepts your explanation and grants you permission to make a late claim, you will be provided with a late claims application package to complete and submit within 2 years of the date the permission to file was granted by the referee.

Once your late claim has been submitted, the Claims Administrator will determine whether or not your late claim is approved based upon the information you submit and the provisions of the Late Claims Plan. If the Claims Administrator approves your late claim, you will be entitled to the applicable Late Claims Plan benefits.

* See FAQ 5 below for an overview of these and other applicable deadlines under the Late Claims Plan.

You may be eligible for compensation under this Late Claims Plan if:

• you received a blood transfusion in Canada in the period January 1, 1986 to July 1, 1990 and as a result you were infected with HCV (referred to as a Primarily Infected Person or HCV Infected Person);
  
  
• you have congenital clotting deficiencies (hemophilia, including von Willebrand's disease) or thalassemia major and received blood products or blood transfusions in Canada in the period January 1, 1986 to July 1, 1990 and you are infected with HCV (referred to in these FAQs as a Primarily Infected Person or HCV Infected Person);
  
  
• you were infected with HCV by a spouse or parent who qualifies (referred to as a Secondarily Infected Person or HCV Infected Person);
  
  
• you are the estate representative of a deceased HCV Infected Person who qualifies;
  
  
• you are a family member or dependent of a deceased HCV Infected Person who qualifies and whose death was caused by his or her HCV infection;
  
  
• you have not already been either approved or disqualified under the original 1986-1990 Hepatitis C Settlement claims plans that have been in place since April 2000; and
  
  
• you meet the deadlines which apply to your type of late claim under the Late Claims Plan* and your late claim is approved by the Claims Administrator.

* See FAQ 5 below for an overview of the applicable deadlines under the Late Claims Plan.

If the late claim of an HCV Infected Person is approved by the Claims Administrator, he or she will be entitled to receive a compensation payment of between $19,104 and $429,832* based on the current stage of HCV disease progression. If the condition worsens, the HCV Infected Person may be entitled to seek additional compensation beyond that originally awarded. In addition, depending on the disease level and personal circumstances, the HCV Infected Person may be entitled to be reimbursed for the costs of uninsured medical treatments, certain out-of-pocket expenses, loss of income including pension contribution replacement, loss of services in the home, or costs of care.

If the late claim of the estate of an HCV Infected Person who died before January 1, 1999 is approved by the Claims Administrator and the Claims Administrator determines the death was caused by the HCV infection, the estate will be entitled to compensation and the family members and/or dependants of the HCV Infected Person alive at the time of his or her death will then be entitled to bring late claims provided they meet the late claims deadline that applies to their late claims. The estate and the family members/dependants may agree to divide a lump sum payment between themselves in the proportions they decide or they may choose to take the individual payments set under the Late Claims Plan.

If the late claim of the estate of an HCV Infected Person who died on or after January 1, 1999 is approved by the Claims Administrator, the estate will be entitled to any compensation the HCV Infected Person would have been entitled to up to the time of his or her death that has not already been paid, regardless of whether the death was caused by HCV. If the Claims Administrator also determines the death was caused by HCV, the HCV Infected Person’s family members and/or dependants will be entitled to make a late claim for individual payments and any other applicable benefits under the Late Claims Plan, provided they meet the late claims deadline that applies to their late claims.

*Payments are indexed for inflation annually. The amounts shown are based on the payment rates for 2025. See FAQ 11 to view the compensation schedule for more detail and FAQ 12 to learn about additional Special Distribution Benefits.

There are two critical deadlines* that apply to most late claims that may be brought under the Late Claims Plan:

• The deadline to request permission to file a late claim under this Late Claims Plan expired on March 31, 2025.
  
  
• If you made your request for permission to file a late claim by March 31, 2025 and the court-appointed referee granted you that permission, the deadline to file your completed late claim application package with the Claims Administrator is within 2 years of the date that permission to file was granted.

If you missed either of these deadlines, you will not be permitted to make a late claim or receive any compensation under the Late Claims Plan, unless one of the two following exceptions applies to the late claim you seek to make:

• you are a Secondarily Infected Person seeking to make a late claim for your own HCV infection within 3 years after the late claim of your spouse or parent, who is a Primarily Infected Person thought to be your source of infection, was approved by the Claims Administrator; or
  
  
• you are a family member or dependant seeking to make a late claim within 2 years after the late claim of the estate of your relative who is an HCV Infected Person who has died:
• was approved by the Claims Administrator; and
• the Claims Administrator has determined the death to have been caused by the infection with HCV.

Please contact the Claims Administrator if you have questions, require additional information or to make your late claim.

* As noted in FAQ 1, if you were recently diagnosed with HCV, you have recently reached your age of majority, or an HCV Infected Person who was already approved under the original Transfused HCV Plan or Hemophiliac HCV Plan has recently died, different deadlines under those Plans may apply to you. Contact the Claims Administrator. Please note that there are claim deadlines that will apply to these claims that may be brought.

The fact that you may have had multiple blood transfusions or blood products before, during and/or after the January 1, 1986 to July 1, 1990 time period does not necessarily mean you are ineligible for compensation under the Late Claims Plan, provided you meet the deadlines to file a late claim under the Late Claims Plan*.

For those HCV Infected Persons who meet the deadlines to apply under the Late Claims Plan and who do not have a genetic clotting deficiency or thalassemia major, the Claims Administrator will arrange a traceback procedure on the units of blood received to help determine whether your late claim can be approved. This will depend on whether the traceback indicates your HCV infection was likely due to a transfusion received before, during or after the January 1, 1986 to July 1, 1990 time period.

HCV Infected Persons with genetic clotting deficiencies (hemophilia, including von Willebrand's disease) or thalassemia major who received blood products or blood transfusions in Canada between January 1, 1986 and July 1, 1990, may be entitled to compensation under the Late Claims Plan even if diagnosed with HCV before 1986, provided they meet the deadlines to file a late claim and their late claim is approved by the Claims Administrator.

* See FAQ 5 above for an overview of the applicable deadlines under the Late Claims Plan.

If you were recently diagnosed with HCV and received a transfusion of blood or blood products between January 1, 1986 to July 1, 1990, contact the Claims Administrator, even if you do not have symptoms at this time, to determine whether you can still apply to one of the original compensation plans. Please note that there are claim deadlines that will apply to these claims even if you do not have symptoms at this time.

A key feature of the Late Claims Plan is the recognition of the potential for the Hepatitis C infection to evolve over time. HCV Infected Persons approved under the Late Claims Plan will obtain compensation now based on their current disease level and may receive additional compensation later if their disease worsens. Some people will benefit from having their disease level reassessed over time and those who are the most ill will be entitled to the widest range of benefits available.

If your relative who would have qualified as an HCV Infected Person has died, his or her estate and certain family members and dependants alive at the time of death may be entitled to compensation.

If the HCV Infected Person died before January 1, 1999, the Late Claim Plan provides his or her death must have been caused by his or her HCV infection for compensation to be available to the estate or to family members and/or dependants.

If the HCV Infected Person died on or after January 1, 1999, the Late Claims Plan provides that the compensation the HCV Infected Person would have been entitled to while he or she was alive will be available to the estate. And, if the Claims Administrator determines the death is caused by the HCV infection, compensation will also be available to family members and/or dependants of the HCV Infected Person who were alive at the time of death.

In each case, claimants must meet the deadlines applicable to their late claims and their late claims must be approved by the Claims Administrator in accordance with the provisions of the Late Claims Plan.

An HCV Infected Person granted permission to file a late claim by the referee will need to provide medical records with the late claims application package establishing having received a blood transfusion or blood products in Canada between January 1, 1986 and July 1, 1990 and the results of a blood test showing that he or she has the Hepatitis C antibody or the Hepatitis C virus present in his or her blood. The Claims Administrator will determine if the late claim is approved based upon the provisions of the Late Claims Plan.

When your late claim as an HCV Infected Person is first approved, you will receive the compensation payment for your current disease level as well as the compensation payments for any lower disease levels. For example, if you have a positive PCR test you will be assessed at Disease Level 2 and entitled to a cumulative payment of the amounts payable for both Disease Level 1 and Disease Level 2. If in the future your disease progresses to non-bridging fibrosis you can be reassessed at Disease Level 3 and receive the Disease Level 3 compensation payment. Depending upon your current disease level, there may be other types of compensation, such as loss of income, that are also available to you.

The schedule of disease-based compensation for approved HCV Infected Persons found [here]* describes the medical conditions and lists the compensation payments that correspond to each disease level.

*Payments are indexed for inflation annually. The amounts shown are based on the payment rates for 2025. The amounts shown on the attached schedule already include the amounts payable for the 2017 Special Distribution Benefits. However, additional Special Distribution Benefits ordered by the Courts in 2018 and 2023 may also be payable. See FAQ 12.

In 2017, the Courts that oversee the 1986-1990 Hepatitis C Settlement ordered the creation of seven Special Distribution Benefits that either increased the amount payable for certain existing benefits under the Transfused HCV Plan and Hemophiliac HCV Plan or added additional benefits, including a direction to create a Late Claims Plan.

In 2018, the Late Claims Plan that was created was approved and the amounts payable for the benefits outlined therein include the amounts payable for the seven 2017 Special Distribution Benefits.

Two additional Special Distribution Benefits were ordered by the Courts in 2018 and four more Special Distribution Benefits were ordered by the Courts in 2023. Those amounts are payable where applicable in addition to those provided for in the Late Claims Plan.

The list of Special Distribution Benefits is found here.

If the Claims Administrator approves the late claim of the estate of an HCV Infected Person and determines HCV caused the death, the spouse, child, grandchild, parent, grandparent and/or sibling alive at the time of the HCV Infected Person’s death may qualify for a lump sum compensation payment and, in some circumstances, for loss of support or loss of services in the home that were being provided by the HCV Infected Person, provided they meet the applicable deadlines to file their late claim.

If you are the spouse or child of an HCV Infected Person who would qualify for compensation and you were infected with HCV through contact with that person, you may qualify as a Secondarily Infected Person and be entitled to the same compensation as is available to an HCV Infected Person, provided you meet the deadlines applicable to your late claim*.

* In some circumstances you may be entitled to make a claim under the Original Transfused HCV Plan or Hemophiliac HCV Plan. There may be different deadlines that apply to a claim under those Plans. Contact the Claims Administrator for more information.

If you are a hemophiliac, co-infected with HCV and HIV, whose late claim has been approved by the Claims Administrator, you are entitled to the compensation payments described at the various disease levels if you meet the medical requirements for that disease level.  Alternatively, if you are unable to prove the medical conditions required for the disease levels are caused by your HCV, you can elect a one-time compensation payment in lieu of all other payments to you and your family members.

If you live in Canada, no tax is payable on any money received as compensation under the Late Claims Plan. If you live outside Canada, some provisions of various tax acts may apply. Compensation payments will generally be indexed annually for inflation in accordance with the Canada Pension Plan Act.

The Late Claims Plan contains special protection for those who are receiving certain benefits from the Federal and Provincial or Territorial governments. However, compensation for income loss may affect entitlement to some government benefits.

The late claim request form to seek permission to file a late claim and, if permission is granted by the referee, the late claim application package have been designed to allow affected persons to complete them without legal assistance. It is not anticipated that you will need to seek legal assistance in the late claims process, but if you wish to do so it is not an expense recoverable under the Late Claims Plan. The Claims Administrator is available to assist with your questions free of charge.

It is important that the Claims Administrator be kept up-to-date with your current contact information and, if you are the HCV Infected Person, with your current health information to maximize the benefits you may be entitled to receive as the Late Claims Plan is intended to provide benefits that evolve should your disease progress.

If the Claims Administrator does not have current contact information for you, you could also miss out on enhanced or additional benefits (Special Distribution Benefits) the Courts overseeing the 1986-1990 Hepatitis C Settlement may order following the financial sufficiency review of the settlement trust, which is conducted every three years.

The Late Claims Plan may in some cases provide for compensation to the estate or family members of an HCV Infected Persons if there is sufficient medical evidence that HCV contributed to the HCV Infected Person’s death. There are deadlines that apply to the making of these late claims. Family members and/or a personal representative should be aware to contact the Claims Administrator for more information following the death of an HCV Infected Person.

These FAQs provide a general overview of the Late Claims Plan for information purposes only. The provisions of the Late Claims Plan, the Court-approved Protocols and other court orders that apply to it shall govern its implementation and operation. You are urged to review the specific provisions of the Late Claims Plan located in the Documents section of this website.

The Claims Administrator is available to assist you. You may contact the Administrator confidentially by email at info@hepc8690.ca or toll-free at 1-877-434-0944. Business hours are from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Eastern Time, Monday to Friday.