Fresenius Medical Care’s Future Uncertain Following GranuFlo Recall
By Andrea Gressman
Fresenius Medical Care happens to be the largest operator of kidney dialysis clinics in the United States and they have experienced a record number of profits this year despite a growing number of GranuFlo/ NaturaLyte lawsuits being filed against them. The question now is whether or not Fresenius Medical Care investors hesitate to provide their ongoing support due to the GranuFlo/ NaturaLyte lawsuits and the cover-up that the company is being charged with.
On October 31, 2012, Fresenius Medical Care announced that their 3rd quarter net profits had risen 13%. This means that their profits are now at $2.25 billion. In the investor’s report it made note of the 31 United States dialysis clinics Fresenius Medical Care currently owns and operates and the fact that 165,754 patients were treated as of September 30, 2012.
However, what was missing from the report was any type of update regarding the fact that the company is currently under investigation by the FDA. The investigation is due to the fact that Fresenius Medical Care failed to promptly warn the hospitals and doctors that were using GranuFlo and NaturaLyte of the fatal side effect risk of heart attack and other cardiac issues in dialysis patients. In fact, GranuFlo and NaturaLyte side effect risks appeared to increase eight-fold.
In a statement released by the FDA, GranuFlo and NaturaLyte were not labeled correctly, which lead to doctors mixing the concentration incorrectly. The products were then administered to the kidney dialysis patient at a higher concentration that caused a number of fatal heart complications.
In the FDA investigation it was discovered that on November 4, 2011, Fresenius Medical Care sent an internal memo that alerted the physicians and clinics that worked within their own network regarding the heart attack side effect risk of GranuFlo and NaturaLyte. However, there was no warning sent out to any of the physicians or clinics outside of their network until the memo was leaked and Fresenius Medical Care was confronted by the FDA regarding the matter. Another four months passed until an alert was sent out to all users of GranuFlo and NaturaLyte in March of 2012. It was also at this time that the FDA issued a Class 1 recall of both GranuFlo and NaturaLyte. It is still not clear at this point how many people actually died because of these GranuFlo and NaturaLyte side effects. However, this number is evidently substantial enough for the FDA to act in such an aggressive manner.
It would be expected that most people would be appalled by the behavior of Fresenius Medical Care ñ they were obviously more concerned about their earnings than promptly issuing warning to anyone and everyone who used their products. Despite the fact that their earnings would have initially gone down, they now face extensive legal costs for all of the GranuFlo and NaturaLyte lawsuits that have been filed against them and they have lost something that could affect them for years to come ñ trust from their patients and throughout the medical community.
It would only be right for the company to acknowledge publically the mistakes that they made and to take responsibility for their actions. Providing compensation to the families in a reasonable amount of time would also go a long way in restoring Fresenius Medical Care’s reputation. However, it is unclear at this time whether the company will do any of those things or if they will battle for every last cent through the litigation process.
There are a number of qualified GranuFlo and NaturaLyte lawsuit attorneys providing active investigations for death and injury side effects that dialysis patients have experienced after receiving GranuFlo or NaturaLyte. To learn more about your legal options visit the Kidney Dialysis Heart Attack, GranuFlo & NaturaLyte Recall Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Investigation page right away.
Updated November 23rd, 2012
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One thought on Fresenius Medical Care Future Uncertain Following GranuFlo Recall
Does the VA medical clinic in Denver, CO use this. My father was treated for a while for Kidney failure, Diabetes, and Lung Cancer and was pretty much blind near the end. Wished there was a way to look into the VA they misdiagnose and take forever to treat a patient. It was horrible near the end of days for my Dad we he and I had a meeting with the VA doctors and some of his doctors weren’t even aware of all the problems he had as they were hearing it for the first time. I was shocked and cried so hard after that meeting. Within 3 -4 weeks it was decided to put him in their hospice and then then stopped treatment of his diabetes and he passed within 3-4 days. Horrible to watch and endure. But that’s how the poor are treated.