Friday, June 28, 2013

GranuFlo Claims Increase in Quantity, MDL Announced

Legal experts predict that the number of GranuFlo lawsuits may likely increase in the following months. Reports say that numerous cases over complications associated with the dialysis product are currently pending in various state courts and the Fresenius Granuflo/Naturalyte Dialysate Products Liability Litigation. The plaintiffs assert that Fresenius Medical Care, the manufacturer of GranuFlo and one other dialysate known as NaturaLyte, failed to properly warn potential consumers regarding the dangers of the dialysis products. 


In December 2012, Dwaine Haerinck and Patricia Jones, plaintiffs who have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the manufacturer of GranuFlo, filed a petition with the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) to merge all similar federal cases into a multidistrict litigation (MDL). In response to this petition, Fresenius Medical Care told the court that it agrees to have the lawsuits merged. Afterward, the JPML convened a meeting to hear out arguments over the formation of this MDL in March 2013. This resulted in the establishment of the GranuFlo MDL in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The judge assigned to handle the cases is the Hon. Douglas P. Woodlock

Legal experts say that the merging of the GranuFlo lawsuits will improve the efficiency of pre-trial proceedings, decrease the possibility of duplicative finding, and provide consistent and timely rulings. However, all cases will still maintain their individuality. Each will be decided on an individual basis.

Both the defendant and plaintiffs agree to the consolidation of the cases due to the fact that all Granuflo lawsuits share common issues of fact, with plaintiffs claiming to have suffered from similar injuries caused by the dialysates known as GranuFlo and NaturaLyte.

The alleged dialysis products are acid concentrates that are used during dialysis treatment. They were designed to control the accumulation of acid in the blood of patients. However, due to their unique composition, these acid concentrates may increase the risk of heart-related problems, or even death. According to studies, both acid concentrates contain ingredients that the human body converts to sodium bicarbonate. High levels of sodium bicarbonate could trigger heart problems.

Based on the statements given by the plaintiffs, Fresenius Medical Care failed to properly advise consumers about the heart-related risks of GranuFlo and NaturaLyte. Fresenius, on the other hand, stated that they did not violate any laws while manufacturing the dialysis products and claims that there is no evidence showing that GranuFlo and NaturaLyte have caused the assumed injuries of the plaintiffs.

Some GranuFlo and NaturaLyte products were recalled by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in March 2012. The agency classified the recall as Class I, a type of recall reserved only for the most dangerous products.

After the recall, NaturaLyte and GranuFlo lawsuits started to pile up. According to articles published on personal injury law firm sites, such as the New York-based Rottenstein Law Group’s rotlaw.com, injured individuals have filed personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits involving GranuFlo in courts all over the US prior to the MDL, including Massachusetts, New York, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, and Colorado.  

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