Jessy Edwards  |  August 30, 2021

Category: Legal News

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

seresto collar
(Photo Credit: Cristian Storto/Shutterstock)

Seresto Flea Collar Class Action Lawsuit Overview:

  • Who: A Florida consumer, John Czerniak, sued Bayer and Elanco Animal Health Inc., the former and current owners of the Seresto brand of flea and tick collars.
  • Why: The lawsuit stems from allegations that the Seresto collars can sicken and kill pets.
  • Where: Czerniak’s lawsuit is playing out in federal court in Pennsylvania.

At least one of the class action lawsuits claiming owners of the Seresto brand flea and tick collar knowingly sold a product that can sicken and kill pets is progressing through the courts.

On Friday, a class action complaint filed by Florida Plaintiff John Czerniak against Seresto’s former owner Bayer and its new owner Elanco Animal Health Inc. was transferred to an Illinois court for pretrial proceedings.

Czerniak filed the lawsuit in April, alleging his dog Romeo developed seizures and skin irritation while using the Seresto collar, and that the seizures only stopped when he removed the product. 

Czerniak’s class action lawsuit is purely seeking economic damages for the Class, rather than relief for any personal injuries or wrongful death, Law360 reported.

His is one of at least three class action lawsuits filed regarding the Seresto collar, after a bombshell report on the Seresto flea and tick collar by USA TODAY and the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting

Journalists discovered that, since Seresto collars were introduced in 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has received incident reports of at least 1,698 pet deaths related to the product and done nothing about it.

Since the report was released, a Congressional subcommittee called on Elanco to voluntarily recall the flea and tick collars, but the company declined to do so, saying there was no evidence that the collar was to blame for the animals’ deaths.

Since the Seresto collar hit the market in 2012, the EPA received more than 75,000 incident reports related to the collars, including the 1,698 pet deaths and nearly 1,000 involving human harm.

Between 2013 and 2018, 907 incidents were reported with humans, 19 of these incidents deemed severe. 

One included a case of a 12-year-old boy who slept in a bed with a dog wearing a collar who started having seizures and vomiting and had to be hospitalized. 

The collar was developed by German pharmaceutical company Bayer and sold to Elanco in 2020. Elanco spokesperson Colleen Dekker said the company had sold more than 25 million collars and an incident report rate of .3 percent, and it had investigated all the reports of death and found no link to the active pesticides, USA Today reported.

“There’s nothing that suggests it’s the active ingredients in the collar that’s at fault,” Dekker reportedly said.

In March, weeks after the first report of incidents surrounding the Seresto collar, a class action lawsuit was filed against Elanco alleging the company misrepresented the safety of its products.

In May, another lawsuit against Bayer Corp and Elanco was filed in a Pennsylvania federal court, claiming the pair sold the Seresto flea collar despite knowing that substances included in the product could harm pets and owners.  

Have you used a Seresto flea collar on your pet? We want to hear from you! Tell us what happened in the comment section below.  

The lead plaintiff is represented by Daniel C. Levin, Nicholas J. Elia of Levin Sedran & Berman LLP, and Scott D. Levensten Law Firm, PC.  

The Seresto Flea Collar Class Action Lawsuit is Levensten v. Elanco Animal Health Incorporated, et al., Case No. 2:21-cv-02364 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.


Don’t Miss Out!

Check out our list of Class Action Lawsuits and Class Action Settlements you may qualify to join!


Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

We tell you about cash you can claim EVERY WEEK! Sign up for our free newsletter.

176 thoughts onClass Action Alleging Seresto Collar Can Kill Pets Advances to Next Stage

  1. Jan Hensley says:

    About a week after vet put on my Boston Terrier. Her neck started to swell…
    I am a senior and the cost was for me substantial…and this has been a horrible year for fleas..so I was excited that may have a solution…
    Now I am fighting the fleas again..

  2. Amanda Adams says:

    My dog got sick and almost died broke out in blisters stayed weak and sickly and something made us think he’s wore this collar for a cpl of weeks now cause tractor supply workers advised us to get one instead of a Frontline flea and tick med thank God I kept the collar

  3. Allen Polvani says:

    Please add me

    1. LISA ANN STEPHENSON says:

      Seresto collar caused seizure in dog.

  4. Patricia Schmitt says:

    Both my dogs lost fur & developed bad rashes! Please, add me.

  5. Lisa says:

    Please add me, I used on my dogs and didn’t notice burns where the collars were, took the collars off immediately. Please add me, I feel so bad for the dogs that have had seizures and passed.

  6. Robin Gibson says:

    We bought this for our dog Rufus. About 3 weeks later it had caused a burn around his neck. Had to go to vet and had to be treated for it. PLEASE ADD ME TO THIS CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT.

  7. Adele couts says:

    I bought these collars for my 2 little dogs. The first ones worked great for a couple years . The last ones I have bought didn’t work at all so I purchased more. I have have nothing but trouble with my animals health since. Please let’s make their wrongs right.

  8. Jennifer J Andersen says:

    Add me

  9. Kristopher says:

    We used these collars on our dog for at least 6 years he is 11 now I took the most recent collar off of him because he was having seizures and I figured it was cause it was to strong for him as he is no a youngster anymore .. I noticed he was getting a lot of swelling in his abdomen so took him to Animal Er to learn he had about 10lbs of fluid built up that was being cause by lymphoma. After a bit of research I’m sure this collar is the cause of it all there isn’t going to be a fix for him he will ultimately die within a few months if that.. please add me!!

  10. Belinda Morris says:

    My dog name is Zenus. I usually buy Zenus real cheap collars. This time I buy aSereso flea collar My baby was broke out. He was so sick. I took him to theVet They gave him medicine and a prescription to treat him I began to just pray that he will be okay. He lived Thank God

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. By submitting your comment and contact information, you agree to receive marketing emails from Top Class Actions regarding this and/or similar lawsuits or settlements, and/or to be contacted by an attorney or law firm to discuss the details of your potential case at no charge to you if you qualify. Required fields are marked *

Please note: Top Class Actions is not a settlement administrator or law firm. Top Class Actions is a legal news source that reports on class action lawsuits, class action settlements, drug injury lawsuits and product liability lawsuits. Top Class Actions does not process claims and we cannot advise you on the status of any class action settlement claim. You must contact the settlement administrator or your attorney for any updates regarding your claim status, claim form or questions about when payments are expected to be mailed out.