Diageo Settles Australian Thalidomide Suit, Law Firm Says

Diageo Plc agreed to pay more than A$1 million ($1 million) to an Australian victim of a drug that can cause birth defects, opening the way for settlement talks with more than 100 other affected people, a law firm said.

Lynette Rowe sued Diageo, which in 1997 acquired Distillers Co. (Biochemicals), the Australian and New Zealand distributor of the thalidomide drug, Slater & Gordon, a class-action law firm, said in a statement today. Rowe was born without arms and legs. Diageo, the maker of Smirnoff vodka and Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky, didn’t immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment sent to its media department.