Plaintiffs Move To Establish GranuFlo MDL while Manufacturer Claims No Case

Feb. 1, 2013 - PRLog -- Plaintiffs who lost loved ones due to GranuFlo side effects have filed lawsuits against Fresenius Medical Care, the manufacturer of GranuFlo and NaturaLyte dialysis products. There are over 35 GranuFlo lawsuits pending in multiple state and U.S. District Courts, however this number is expected to increase. Several of these plaintiffs have filed a motion with the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, requesting that an MDL be established in Massachusetts to consolidate lawsuits making claims against Fresenius Medical Care. The lawsuits claim that GranuFlo and NaturaLyte, two blood-cleaning products used in dialysis, produced a bicarbonate overdose in dialysis patients causing heart attacks, strokes and death.

   However, Fresenius opposed the motion to establish the MDL arguing that, “the plaintiffs’ claims will fail on their merits because the plaintiffs cannot show that Fresenius’s products are unreasonably dangerous or that Fresenius failed to provide adequate warnings and instructions to the intermediaries who used GranuFlo and NaturLyte to treat dialysis patients.”  Attorney David Ennis of Ennis & Ennis, P.A. finds this argument completely without merit given Fresenius’ conduct. In November 2011, Fresenius’ chief medical officer sent a memo to doctors at all Fresenius clinics, warning of the risks and noting the 941 patients had died of GranuFlo heart attacks at Fresenius clinics in 2010 alone.  Yet despite this knowledge of the dangers of GranuFlo and NaturaLyte, Fresenius intentionally failed to warn other dialysis centers putting thousands more patients at risk.  It wasn’t until the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) learned of the internal memo in March 2012 and investigated, that a publ   ic warning was issued and the product recalled. “Fresenius saw fit to warn its own doctors and centers of the risks and death toll from these products and it is completely disingenuous to now claim the products are not unreasonable dangerous and/or that no warnings were necessary,” noted attorney Ennis.  “Fresenius must be held accountable for its blatant failure to act when it was in a position to prevent the injuries, but instead chose to put company profits ahead of patient safety.”  

   GranuFlo and NaturaLyte are concentrates used during hemodialysis to prevent acid buildup up.  Unfortunately these concentrates can elevate patients’ bicarbonate levels in the blood more that other similar products. Doctors were unaware of this issue and were not administering correct dosages, which could lead to bicarbonate overdose. This may cause metabolic alkalosis, which can lead to low blood pressure, arrhythmias, and heart attacks.  Use of these products increased the risks of cardiac arrest or cardiopulmonary death by 400-600 percent. If you or a loved one underwent dialysis and suffered a severe cardiac event within 24-48 hours following dialysis, contact the attorneys at Ennis & Ennis, P.A. for a free consultation to determine whether you may be entitled to compensation for injuries caused by GranuFlo or NaturaLyte.  Simply call toll free 1-800-856-6405 or go online to www.ennislaw.com and complete an online case evaluation