Heparin Lawsuits: Still Time to File

August 4th, 2009. By LucyC

Between November 2007 and February 2008 reports of adverse health effects linked to heparin started to flood the media. By February 2008, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) had managed to identify the initial source of the problem, and consequently announced a recall of certain heparin products produced by Baxter Healthcare.

Heparin is used in a variety of medical applications, including cardiac procedures, dialysis and flush catheters. Because possible routes of exposure include injections, pre-filled syringes or IV bags, the potential for hundreds if not thousands of people to have been exposed to the potentially lethal product was enormous. And the numbers give some indication of that.

The FDA’s own data, which is available to the public, show 246 reports of death filed with the agency since January 1, 2007; 238 were reported to FDA on or after January 1, 2008. Of the 149 reports that included one or more allergic symptom(s) or symptoms of hypotension, or death, 146 were reported to FDA on or after January 1, 2008. Given the time frame, the spike in the number of incidents may have resulted from exposure to contaminated heparin. 

Citing the case of a woman who was in a coma for three months and narrowly survived, Roger Drake, an attorney with Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman involved in heparin litigation, told LAS in a recent interview that corporate accountability around this issue is very important. And, lawsuits are one tool the public has at their disposal to help bring about better corporate accountability. If you received contaminated heparin and suffered adverse health effects as a result, you still have time to explore your legal options.

 

Tags: Heparin

This was posted on Tuesday, August 4th, 2009 at 8:36 am and is filed under Drugs/Medical . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.