Woman Files GranuFlo Lawsuit After Husband Dies of Heart Attack

By TopClassActions | November 26, 2013

Category: Pharmaceuticals

By Jessica Tyner

Fresenius GranuFlo Diabetes Lawsuit Ettie Faye Erving filed her GranuFlo lawsuit on Sept. 10, 2013, after losing her husband Jerry Ervin allegedly because of GranuFlo. The Mississippi widow claims that her husband, herself and everyone else involved in his dialysis treatment were never warned about the the risks involved with GranuFlo.

GranuFlo and NaturaLyte were the most commonly used complementary kidney dialysis drugs on the market. GranuFlo is designed to help balance the blood’s bicarbonate levels during dialysis, a necessity — but there are other drugs which do the same thing and aren’t related to heart attacks.

“The use of GranuFlo and NaturaLyte is associated with, and causes, an increased risk of death and serious cardiovascular injuries, cardiovascular death, sudden cardiac death, cardiopulmonary arrest, heart attack, stroke, congestive heart failure, and other catastrophic cardiovascular injuries,” states Ettie’s GranuFlo lawsuit.

She claims that Fresenius, the drug makers of both GranuFlo and NaturaLyte, “intentionally, recklessly and negligently advertised, promoted, marketed, sold” and distributed GranuFlo even though some people in the company were well aware of the GranuFlo dangers.

An internal memo was leaked in 2009 warnings a select handful of doctors in a few Fresenius centers of the connection between the drugs and heart ailments. This memo was never intended to be seen, and it wasn’t distributed to all Fresenius clinics and doctors or to any other clinics which bought and used GranuFlo. It was this memo, leaked to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), that let all the worms out of the can.

Jerry died on April 1, 2003, from “an adverse cardiovascular event” which, at the time, no one knew was related to his use of GranuFlo during treatment. Everyone thought it was an unrelated and very unfortunate event. This happened years before that internal memo was leaked. Ettie claims that her late husband “was not aware and through diligent effort was not able to discover the risks of serious injury or death associated with or caused by the use of GranuFlo.”

People generally trust their doctors and healthcare providers to make the best, safest decisions for them. However, healthcare providers depend on drug makers to include adequate warnings and inserts. The number of GranuFlo class action lawsuits are rising on a regular basis because so many people have lost loved ones to the drugs. They allegedly were never told of the GranuFlo hazards.

Ettie says that they “would not have purchased or used GranuFlo or NaturaLyte had (Fresenius) properly disclosed the risks of serious injury or death,” and there are many other people who feel the same way.

“Neither the product label, packaging, instructions, nor the packages containing the product provided adequate instruction or warnings regarding monitoring patients using GranuFlo,” Ettie’s GranuFlo lawsuit reads. She was completely blindsided by the loss of her husband, and for 10 years has thought that his death was a fluke. It wasn’t until she became aware in recent years of the GranuFlo hazards that she discovered her husband’s death may have been prevented.

Unexpected Deaths

“Fresenius is responsible for ensuring, through adequate training, instruction, monitoring and hiring principles that its clinicians, nurses, contractors, employees and physicians know how to use all hemodialysis products in a manner that is safe and effective for recipients of the drugs,” continues Ettie’s GranuFlo lawsuit.

Ettie is suing Fresenius for strict liability, negligence, failure to warn, breach of warranty, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, reckless/negligent misrepresentation and concealment, gross negligence and wrongful death. She’s requesting compensatory damages, past medical and burial expenses, past and future lost wages, loss of enjoyment of life compensation, punitive damages, attorney’s fees, court costs and interest.

“Had any of the healthcare professionals involved in providing dialysis treatment of (Jerry) had been aware of the increased risk of serious injury and death associated with GranuFlo, they would not have used GranuFlo,” the lawsuit contends.

The case is Ettie Faye Ervin et al v. Fresenius USA Inc. et al, Case No.: 1:13-cv-12394-DPW, the Circuit Court of Walthall County Mississippi.

Do You Have a GranuFlo Story?

If you or a loved one suffered from GranuFlo, you might have a GranuFlo legal claim and deserve compensation for your pain, suffering, loss and expenses. Find out more by visiting the Kidney Dialysis Heart Attack, GranuFlo & NaturaLyte Recall Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Investigation right now. You’ll get a chance to submit your information and a lawyer will contact you if you qualify for a free GranuFlo claim review.

All medical device, dangerous drug and medical class action and lawsuit news updates are listed in the Drug and Medical Device section of Top Class Actions.

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