MDL Created for Fresenius NaturaLyte, GranuFlo Lawsuits

MDL Created for Fresenius NaturaLyte, GranuFlo Lawsuits

By Andrea Gressman

It was recently reported that two GranuFlo lawsuit plaintiffs had filed motions on December 12, 2012 requesting that there be a GranuFlo lawsuit multidistrict litigation (MDL) created. Well, it has now been reported that Fresenius Medical Care, the manufacturers of GranuFlo and NaturaLyte, have also agreed to the establishment of the MDL.

An MDL is where a group of lawsuits, such as the GranuFlo and NaturaLyte lawsuits, have been filed against the same defendant all for similar reasons and are consolidated into one legal proceeding. This helps streamline the litigation process and make it as efficient as possible. However, unlike a class action lawsuit, MDL lawsuits have the resolutions decided upon on an individual basis and do not share one settlement or award amount, as is the case in a class action lawsuit settlement.
In the GranuFlo and NaturaLyte lawsuits, the plaintiffs have claimed that GranuFlo and NaturaLyte — products designed to help in the treatment of dialysis patients — caused patients to experience cardiac arrest, also referred to as a heart attack. Many of the patients who experienced these NaturaLyte/GranuFlo heart attacks also experienced sudden death. As a result, many of these GranuFlo and NaturaLyte heart attack lawsuits were filed by the victims’ family members on their behalf.

It is also the claim in many of these NaturaLyte and GranuFlo lawsuits that Fresenius knew of the potential side effect risks, yet did not properly report this to the medical community, putting people’s lives at risk.

NaturaLyte and GranuFlo are both classified as acid concentrates that are used in dialysis treatment to regulate the patient’s acid levels. However, both GranuFlo and NaturaLyte have different active ingredients compared to other products of the same classification that makes them more potent. Despite this fact, the doctors using NaturaLyte and GranuFlo were not aware of the higher potency. Therefore, they have been mixing it at the same rate and essentially overdosing the patients and causing the patients to have severe side effects, such as heart attack, cardiac arrest and even death.

NaturaLyte and GranuFlo Lawsuit MDL

In December of 2012, two plaintiffs filed a motion before the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) that requested that current and future NaturaLyte and GranuFlo federal lawsuits be consolidated to a MDL. The motion also requested that everything be consolidated to the District of Massachusetts. However, there have been some NaturaLyte and GranuFlo lawsuit plaintiffs that have not agreed that this would be the best course of action.

According to a recent report, there are 37 GranuFlo and NaturaLyte lawsuits that have been filed in the federal courts in Alabama, Florida, California, Georgia, Massachusetts, Louisiana, New Jersey, Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvanian and Ohio.

Filing a NaturaLyte and GranuFlo Lawsuit

If you or a family member had GranuFlo or NaturaLyte used in dialysis treatment and experienced negative side effects as a result, including a heart attack, you could potentially file a NaturaLyte or GranuFlo lawsuit and join the new GranuFlo MDL. Visit the Kidney Dialysis Heart Attack, GranuFlo & NaturaLyte Recall Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Investigation page today to receive your free consultation with a qualified NaturaLyte or GranuFlo lawsuit lawyer.