Trasylol Suspect in Sister's Death

Sierra Vista, AZThomas T.'s 49-year-old sister had surgery in November, 2006 to replace a heart valve. Thomas believes that she was given Trasylol during surgery (administered to control blood loss) because, over the next four weeks, her kidneys shut down and she was on a dialysis machine. She never left the hospital.

"After surgery she was put in recovery for a few days but they put her back into ICU, where she never came out," says Thomas. His sister never had any kidney problems and there wasn't any history of kidney disease in his family, "besides the occasional bladder infection".

Recently, Thomas's parents mentioned that they heard about a drug that was sometimes administered during open heart surgeries that had caused kidney failure in some patients. "Right away I googled Trasylol and I read many stories with symptoms just like my sister had," says Thomas. It was too coincidental. "At first I was simply curious when my parents first mentioned this drug. Then curiosity turned to shock and amazement. Eight years in the army has given me a lot of patience so I don't get angry anymore.

"I then sent an email to [LaywersandSettlements.com] and a lawyer phoned me the very next day. I told the lawyer that I would talk to my brother-in-law and that he would likely need time to think about pursuing a lawsuit against the drugmaker.

"When I told my brother-in-law about Trasylol and a potential lawsuit it was very hard for him to decide whether or not to bring all this up again. He has two children and my sister's death was devastating. But he has some friends in the medical profession and talked with them. Then he got back to me and decided to go ahead with the lawsuit.

He just received a package in the mail with all the consent forms that gives the law firm permission to get the hospital records—he doesn't have to do anything, which makes it a lot more bearable."