(PRWEB) August 20, 2014
A Missouri federal judge has remanded a lawsuit filed by a group of dialysis patients who were treated with GranuFlo and NaturaLyte to the City of St. Louis Circuit Court, reports the national law firm of Baron and Budd. The judge rejected an assertion by the defendants that the plaintiffs’ claims should be dismissed because they were invalid. (McGee, et al. v. Fresenius Medical Care North America Inc., et al., No. 4:14-967)
The defendant, Fresenius Medical Care, is the manufacturer of the dialysis products GranuFlo and NaturaLyte. In 2012, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a Class I recall of the products after it was disclosed that patients were at risk of developing a dangerous condition known as metabolic alkalosis. This condition occurs when the level of bicarbonate in a patient’s blood is increased. Metabolic alkalosis can result in sudden cardiac arrest, heart attacks and other cardiovascular issues. (http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfres/res.cfm?id=109861)
According to court records, there are nearly 1,900 GranuFlo/NaturaLyte lawsuits pending as part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL) that is in progress in the U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts. Plaintiffs in all of these lawsuits, as well as the Missouri cases, allege the manufacturer did not properly warn patients and their doctors of the dangers. In addition, the plaintiffs allege the manufacturer continued to market both products aggressively even after it was aware of the potential health risks. (In re Fresenius GranuFlo/Naturalyte Dialysate Litigation, MDL No. 2428)
“We are pleased that these cases continue to gather momentum,” said Laura Baughman, shareholder at the national law firm of Baron and Budd. “This is yet another indication of the mounting pressure to hold Fresenius responsible for the suffering caused by its products.”
Please get in touch with the national law firm of Baron and Budd if you or someone close to you suffered cardiac arrest during or after dialysis treatment. Call 1-866-472-9108 to or visit our website here http://baronandbudd.com/areas-of-practice/pharmaceuticals/granuflo-lawyer/ to learn more about your potential legal options.
ABOUT BARON & BUDD, P.C.
The attorneys at Baron and Budd have been Protecting What’s Right for consumers for more than 35 years. Over the years, our national law firm has built a successful track record representing people who have been harmed by corporate wrongdoing. The firm’s pharmaceutical lawyers recently represented over 7,000 patients harmed by using the drug Avandia. Previously, Baron & Budd played a prominent role in litigation related to the diet drug Fen-Phen. As a result, the case settled for an amount valued at more than $1.275 billion (In Re Diet Drugs (Phentermine | Fenfluramine | Dexfenfluramine) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1203 (E.D. Pa.)