GranuFlo Lawsuit Filed
Louisiana officials recently filed a lawsuit in the 19th Judicial District Court against Fresenius Medical Care, the manufacturer and seller of the dialysis drugs GranuFlo and NaturaLyte. The GranuFlo lawsuit claims that Fresenius and nearly 100 of its dialysis clinics in the state of Louisiana knew of life-threatening cardiac risks posed by these drugs but concealed this vital information from patients and non-Fresenius physicians and clinics for years. Citing violations of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law in Louisiana, the attorney general is seeking $5,000 for each violation and is asking the company to pay back profits earned from sales of the medications. Additionally, thousands of GranuFlo lawsuits have been filed against Fresenius Medical Care by patients accusing the company of lack of action and disregard for their health and safety.
The Use of GranuFlo in Dialysis Treatment
Dialysis treatment requires reducing the acidity of the blood with bicarbonate. GranuFlo and NaturaLyte contain sodium diacetate, which the body converts to bicarbonate, but other compounds have traditionally been used to reduce acid in the blood. The sodium diacetate in these two medications produced by Fresenius has been shown to cause a significant increase in bicarbonate levels when administered at the same dosages as the more traditional dialysis medications. Elevated bicarbonate levels in the blood can lead to metabolic alkalosis, a condition that can cause low blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmia, stroke, heart attack, coma or sudden cardiac death.
Potential GranuFlo Dangers
The Louisiana attorney general’s office states that Fresenius likely knew of the dangers of GranuFlo and NaturaLyte in 2004, and the company issued special instructions to its own facilities for administering the medications so that metabolic alkalosis risks were minimized. However, the company also sold these medications to roughly 1,500 non-Fresenius dialysis facilities across the country and failed to notify them of the cardiovascular risks posed by high dosages of the drugs. Furthermore, Fresenius performed a study showing that more than 900 of its patients suffered cardiac arrest while undergoing dialysis in 2010. A November 2011 company memo documented the link between GranuFlo and elevated bicarbonate levels, and medical staff members concluded that patients with high levels of bicarbonate in the blood had six times the risk of cardiac arrest than people with normal levels. Fresenius waited until March 2012 to issue widespread warnings about the drugs, and the FDA issued a recall shortly thereafter.
Contact Louisiana GranuFlo Lawsuit Attorneys Today
If you or a loved one suffered a cardiac event while undergoing dialysis where GranuFlo was used, contact Attorney Group for Louisiana today to see if you are eligible to file a GranuFlo lawsuit. At your free, no-obligation consultation, we can help answer your questions and connect you with an affiliated attorney who can help you with a GranuFlo lawsuit.
