Woman Seeks Damages for Husband’s Death at a Fresenius Dialysis Clinic

Woman Seeks Damages for Husband’s Death at a Fresenius Dialysis Clinic

By John Curran

Tennessee resident Patsy Brickey has filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of her deceased husband, Gail, alleging that the kidney dialysis chemical GranuFlo — manufactured by Fresenius Medical Care — was unnecessarily unsafe and caused his death following treatment.

According to her Fresenius wrongful death lawsuit, Gail Brickey underwent four hours of dialysis treatment on August 28, 2009 at a Fresenius Medical Care facility. Less than two days later, he suffered from two cardiac episodes that resembled a heart attack. After the second event, Mr. Brickey died before a nurse could respond. The Fresenius lawsuit alleges that his death was preventable.

“Despite its initial failure to study GranuFlo, Fresenius knew or should have known of its dangerous propensities as early as 2005… but withheld that information from the medical community at large and even, for a period of time, from its own dialysis centers such as the one that provided Mr. Brickey’s treatment,” the GranuFlo lawsuit says. 

The kidney dialysis centers run by Fresenius Medical Care were informed in a 2011 memo that the risk for GranuFlo cardiac arrest side effects was six to eight times higher than with other dialysis chemicals.

The memo was leaked to the public in early 2012, and the FDA issued a Class 1 recall of all GranuFlo and NaturaLyte products, relying in part on an internal study by Fresenius indicating 941 deaths had occurred in just 667 facilities in the course of a year. Information regarding excess sodium bicarbonate levels has been known since the 1980s. This chemical imbalance has been linked to heart attacks and sudden cardiac death after GranuFlo and NaturaLyte were approved beginning in 2000.

The GranuFlo wrongful death lawsuit is Patsy Brickey, et al. v. Fresenius USA, Inc., et al., Case No. 13-cv-12093, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts. It was filed directly into multi district litigation known as In Re: Fresenius GranuFlo/NaturaLyte Dialysate Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2428.

Many family members are learning that a loved one may have died as a result of GranuFlo side effects that led to heart problems. Legal options are available to those who have eligible cases. Get a free legal review by filling out the short form at the Kidney Dialysis Heart Attack, GranuFlo & NaturaLyte Recall Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Investigation. A GranuFlo injury lawyer will help you understand whether or not you can and should file a complaint against Fresenius.