Mother Sues Fresenius Over Son’s Alleged GranuFlo Death

Plaintiff Carolyn Clark has filed a lawsuit against Fresenius, the manufacturers of GranuFlo and NaturaLyte. Her GranuFlo/NaturaLyte lawsuit alleges that these Fresenius dialysis products caused the death of Roderick Clark, her son.

Roderick Clark was 28, and had to undergo dialysis three days a week, according to the GranuFlo lawsuit. After a dialysis session in March 2012, he reportedly dropped dead from sudden cardiac death.

Dialysis is a process wherein machines take over the function of the kidneys, purifying the blood and removing waste products. As a part of this process, products like GranuFlo and NaturaLyte are used to produce a “dialysis solution.”

Special dialysis tubing runs through a bath of dialysis solution. When the patient’s blood flows through the dialysis tubing, the chemical properties of the solution draw out biological waste. However, it is alleged that Fresenius’s dialysis products were defective in that they increased the pH of the patient’s blood during the process. When someone’s blood pH gets too high, it can interfere with many processes in the body, including the muscles of the heart.

Carolyn Clark’s GranuFlo lawsuit alleges that Fresenius was aware that their dialysis products were defective and that the company concealed this risk, ultimately leading to her son’s death. To support these allegations, her lawsuit cites that in 2010, Fresenius completed a study on the risk of high blood pH in dialysis patients using their products. In November 2011, Fresenius issued a memo to Fresenius-affiliated dialysis centers, stating that they were aware of a risk of sudden cardiac death linked to GranuFlo and NaturaLyte.

The problem, however, is that Fresenius products are used at other companies’ dialysis centers around the country, and Fresenius reportedly did not disclose this information to other companies or doctors until the original memo was anonymously leaked to U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). Even then, when Fresenius issued a memo to non-affiliated centers in March 2012, it was “scientifically vague” in the words of Clark’s GranuFlo lawsuit. It was not until June 2012 that Fresenius issued a class 1 recall for GranuFlo and NaturaLyte.

The GranuFlo/NaturaLyte lawsuit is formally titled Carolyn Clark, Individually and on Behalf of the Wrongful Death Beneficiaries of Roderick Clark, Deceased, v. Fresenius Medical Care Holdings Inc., et al., Case no. 13-0149-CI, in the Circuit Court of Washington County, Mississippi.

Help for Victims of Kidney Dialysis Injury, Death

If you or a loved one suffered a heart attack, cardiac arrest, stroke, metabolic alkalosis or other injury after undergoing kidney dialysis with GranuFlo and/or NaturaLyte, you may be eligible to take legal action against the manufacturer of the dialysis drugs. Filing a lawsuit may be the only way you’ll be able to obtain compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering and other damages. Learn more and obtain a free case evaluation at the GranuFlo/NaturaLyte Recall Class Action Lawsuit Investigation.