The Justice Department plans to make as much as $40 million available for victims of a 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak that federal investigators traced to a batch of contaminated steroid injections after a dispute over whether those affected by the outbreak qualified for such financial assistance was finally resolved, officials said.
While some of the details still need to be worked out, the Office for Victims of Crime has decided to make the money available from its Crime Victims Fund, which is financed by fines and penalties paid by those convicted of crimes, the officials said. That itself is a significant — as there had been some dispute about the victims’ eligibility — though the money is not yet in victims’ or their family members’ hands.
