460 GranuFlo Lawsuits Alleging Sudden Cardiac Death and other Cardiovascular Injuries Now Pending in Federal Massachusetts Litigation, Bernstein Liebhard LLP Reports
New York, NY (PRWEB) January 20, 2014 -- In just under a month, court documents show that nearly 30 GranuFlo lawsuits (http://www.thegranuflolawsuit.com/) have joined the federal dialysis drug litigation now underway in the U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, Bernstein Liebhard LLP reports.
According to a Case List updated on January 15th, a total of 460 claims alleging serious cardiovascular injuries stemming from use of the dialysis medication, along with fellow acid concentrate, NaturaLyte, have now been filed in the federal proceeding on behalf of patients and their families. All of these lawsuits follow the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Class I GranuFlo recall of June 2012, which was announced by the federal agency after the drugs’ side effects were determined to be serious and potentially fatal.
When this Case List was last updated by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on December 16, 2013, court documents show that 433 dialysis lawsuits involving GranuFlo and NaturaLyte had been filed against their manufacturer, Fresenius Medical Care. (In re Fresenius GranuFlo/Naturalyte Dialysate Litigation, MDL No. 2428)
“We are not surprised to see the federal litigation of GranuFlo lawsuits continuing to progress, as our Firm continues to hear from individuals affected by the 2012 recall,” says Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationwide law firm representing victims of defective medical devices and drugs including GranuFlo and NaturaLyte. Following the recall, the Firm is offering free and confidential case reviews to individuals who may have experienced serious heart problems after use of the acid concentrates.
GranuFlo Lawsuits
The federal dialysis lawsuit litigation in Massachusetts is also moving forward in areas unrelated to its case list. To preserve the individuality of GranuFlo lawsuits filed with the Court, as well as indicate their similarities, the judge overseeing the proceeding issued a Case Management Order on December 23th approving the use of a Master Complaint and Short Form Complaint. According to documents, the Master Complaint will detail common allegations filed in the suits, while the Short Form Complaint will indicate which dialysis medication the patient was treated with, as well as what specific injuries they claim to have sustained and what allegations from the Master Complaint they are adopting.
NaturaLyte and GranuFlo lawsuits that have been filed in the U.S. allege sudden cardiac death, strokes, heart attacks, cardiovascular arrest and other life-threatening heart injuries dialysis patients were not adequately warned about by Fresenius. Further, plaintiffs point out that the general public was not made aware of GranuFlo side effects an Urgent Product Notification was issued by the company in March 2012.
Following the notification, which was later given Class I recall status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the findings of an internal memo sent by Fresenius in November 2011 showed that the company knew about the heart problems associated with GranuFlo and NaturaLyte long before they were publicly announced. According to the memo, 941 patient deaths had occurred in treatment centers owned by Fresenius at that time, and doctors should lower their dosages accordingly. A New York Times report published in the summer of 2012 indicated that the FDA had launched an investigation into whether Fresenius violated federal regulations by withholding this information from the public prior to March 2012.*
If you or a family member sustained a fatal or near-fatal heart injury within 72 hours of receiving GranuFlo or NaturaLyte during a dialysis treatment, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit against Fresenius Medical Care. Learn more about the serious heart injuries behind the GranuFlo recall by visiting Bernstein Liebhard LLP’s website, and check for updates in the litigation via the Firm’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/granuflolawsuit. For more information, and to arrange for a free case review, please call 800-511-5092.
*nytimes.com/2012/06/15/health/fda-investigates-fresenius-for-failure-to-warn-of-risk.html; New York Times, June 14, 2012
About Bernstein Liebhard LLP
Bernstein Liebhard LLP is a New York-based law firm exclusively representing injured persons in complex individual and class action lawsuits nationwide since 1993, including those who have been harmed by dangerous drugs, defective medical devices and consumer products. The firm has been named by The National Law Journal to the “Plaintiffs’ Hot List,” recognizing the top plaintiffs’ firms in the country, for the past 11 consecutive years.
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Contact Information:
Felecia L. Stern, Esq.
Bernstein Liebhard LLP
info(at)consumerinjurylawyers(dot)com
http://www.thegranuflolawsuit.com/
https://plus.google.com/115936073311125306742?rel=author
Felecia L. Stern, GranuFlo and NaturaLyte Dialysis Lawsuit Center, http://www.thegranuflolawsuit.com/, +1 800-511-5092, [email protected]
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