GranuFlo Class Action Lawsuit Removed to Federal Court

GranuFlo Class Action Lawsuit Removed to Federal Court

By Jessica Tyner

Lawsuits against Fresenius Medical Care continue to grow, alleging that the company failed to warn the public about the risk of heart attack deaths linked to its dialysis products GranuFlo and NaturaLyte. 

Recently a group of people had their class action lawsuit against Fresenius removed from the Superior Court of California to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. All of the plaintiffs were suing on behalf of their loved ones, who died after receiving dialysis care at a Fresenius clinic. Plaintiff Aurora Nunez lost her husband Lazaro, Taffie Alexander lost James Barton, Charles Pass lost his wife Elnora, and Sherlyn Simon lost her husband Nathaniel. 

The GranuFlo class action lawsuit asserts claims against Fresenius for strict products liability, negligence, failure to warn, breach of warranty of merchantability, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, fraud, unjust enrichment, wrongful death, survivorship action, and elder abuse. 

All of the plaintiffs are seeking compensation for “wrongful death, past medical and burial expenses, past and future lost wages and loss of earning capacity, past and future emotional distress, consequential damages, disgorgement of profits, restitution and punitive damages.” 

Of course, the loss of a loved one can never be fully compensated for — or even partially. However, due compensation can be a start in helping to ease medical expenses and other related bills.

“The use of GranuFlo and NaturaLyte can cause an increased risk of death and serious injuries, including sudden cardiac death, cardiopulmonary arrest, heart attack, heart failure, cardiac arrhythmia and stroke,” reads the Notice of Removal. However, “despite knowledge of these risks, Fresenius hid them from their customers, the FDA, and the public and continued to manufacture, sell, promote, use and distribute GranuFlo and NaturaLyte for use in dialysis across the country.” 

The group of survivors claim that Fresenius and leaders in the company “intentionally, recklessly and/or negligently concealed, suppressed, omitted, and misrepresented the risks, dangers, defects, and/or disadvantages of GranuFlo and NaturaLyte.” 

The GranuFlo risks came to light when an internal memo was revealed that warned certain Fresenius centers, and certain Fresenius doctors, of what the studies showed. However, this memo was only meant to be seen by a select few, leaving the majority of Fresenius centers – and all other dialysis centers — in the dark about GranuFlo dangers. 

The “injuries, damages and death caused by the use of GranuFlo” is the foundation for this GranuFlo class action lawsuit and others like it. 

Keeping Things Hidden

Those who lost loved ones claim in the class action lawsuit that “despite knowing that their own clinics did not know, understand and were confused about the high level of bicarbonate in the GranuFlo and NaturaLyte product, and that their own clinic populations were reaching dangerous levels of post-dialysis alkalosis, and knowing that alkalosis can cause sudden cardiac death…(Fresenius) failed or refused to warn the public, its customers, non-Fresenius clinics and the FDA” about what was happening.

The memos, written from 2005-2008, “again acknowledged the increased risk of death with the use of GranuFlo and NaturaLyte, yet continued to manufacture, distribute and sell GranuFlo and NaturaLyte to non-Fresenius customers throughout the country, all while refusing to warn them of these defects and increased risk of injury and death.” 

In fact, their “cavalier attitude towards patients’ lives was evident when (Fresenius) stated in one of their memos that although there is an increased risk of death, it is ‘only’ 20 percent higher,” the class action lawsuit states.

The GranuFlo Class Action Lawsuit is Aurora Nunez, et al. v. Fresenius USA, et al., Case No.: 1:13-cv-11986-DPW, the United States District Court Central District of California, Western Division.

Did You Lose a Loved One to GranuFlo?

If you lost a loved one to GranuFlo, or you were hurt from this drug, you might have a GranuFlo legal claim. Learn more today at the Kidney Dialysis Heart Attack, GranuFlo & NaturaLyte Recall Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Investigation. Once your information is submitted, you’ll be contact by a lawyer for a free GranuFlo claim review if you have a case.