 After the announcement of the first thirteen severe diseases during spring 1972, work inspectors from Bonn ordered Dynamit Nobel to take the appropriate measures in order to improve the health and safety conditions of work.But the company took a long time to put them into place.Afterwards, the 40 sick employees gathered together as Interessengemeinschaft der VC-Geschädigten in order to file a complaint for violation of duty against the Land of North-Rhine-Westphalia and asked for damage compensation, just like in the Contergan trial.