GranuFlo Lawsuits Now Being Filed by Bernstein Liebhard LLP in Massachusetts Federal Court

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Apr 02, 2014, 03:28 ET

NEW YORK, April 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The nationwide law firm of Bernstein Liebhard LLP is actively filing GranuFlo lawsuits (http://www.thegranuflolawsuit.com/ ) on behalf of individuals who allegedly suffered life-threatening cardiovascular events due to the administration of GranuFlo and NaturaLyte dialysis concentrates. On March 24, 2014, the Firm filed a GranuFlo lawsuit in the U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts on behalf of a Georgia man who suffered a fatal episode of cardiac arrest in January 2012, following a dialysis treatment involving the use of GranuFlo or NaturaLyte. (Case No. 1:14-cv-10127-DPW)

"This complaint joins hundreds of GranuFlo lawsuits involving similar allegations that have already been filed in state and federal courts. We expect that this litigation will continue to grow in the coming months," says Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationwide law firm representing individuals harmed by defective medical devices and drugs. Currently, the Firm is offering free and confidential case evaluations for individuals who may have experienced side effects within 72 hours of receiving GranuFlo or NaturaLyte.

GranuFlo Recall Litigation

According to court documents, more than 650 GranuFlo lawsuits are currently pending in a multidistrict litigation underway in U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts. All of the lawsuits were filed on behalf of individuals who allegedly suffered heart attacks, strokes, and other serious cardiovascular problems, including sudden cardiac death, during or shortly after a dialysis treatment that involved the use of GranuFlo or NaturaLyte. (In re Fresenius GranuFlo/Naturalyte Dialysate Litigation, MDL No. 2428)

In addition to claims pending in the federal proceeding, court documents show several GranuFlo and NaturaLyte lawsuits pending in Massachusetts' Middlesex County Superior Court. (In re: Consolidated Fresenius Cases, No. MICV2013-03400-O)

GranuFlo and NaturaLyte are used to remove acid from the blood during dialysis treatments. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Class I recall for GranuFlo and NaturaLyte in June 2012 after the federal agency found that the acid concentrates may put a patient at risk for serious injury and death. This announcement followed an Urgent Product Notification from Fresenius in March 2012 that alerted the general public of GranuFlo and NaturaLyte's association with sudden cardiac death, heart attacks, cardiopulmonary arrest, strokes and other injuries.

According to the GranuFlo recall notice, the heart problems associated with the two drugs occurred because healthcare providers were not made aware that GranuFlo and NaturaLyte contain a high amount of an ingredient the body converts to bicarbonate. If this difference is not taken into account when dosage is calculated, a dialysis patient may suffer metabolic alkalosis, a condition caused by elevated levels of bicarbonate in the blood stream. This condition can cause patients to experience sudden, catastrophic, and life-threatening heart events.

Among other things, plaintiffs in GranuFlo lawsuits point out that Fresenius issued an internal memo to its own dialysis clinics in November 2011 to advise doctors practicing at those facilities about the dosage issues associated with GranuFlo and NaturaLyte. The lawsuits question why a similar notification was not issued to dialysis clinics outside the company's network at that time.

Dialysis patients who may have suffered cardiovascular side effects within 72 hours of receiving GranuFlo or NaturaLyte may be eligible to file a lawsuit against Fresenius Medical Care. Learn more about the GranuFlo recall by visiting Bernstein Liebhard LLP's new website, or by speaking with one of the Firm's lawyers directly. To arrange for a free case review, please call 800-511-5092.

About Bernstein Liebhard LLP

Bernstein Liebhard LLP is a New York-based law firm exclusively representing injured persons in complex individual and class action lawsuits nationwide since 1993, including those who have been harmed by dangerous drugs, defective medical devices and consumer products. The firm has been named by The National Law Journal to the Plaintiffs' Hot List, recognizing the top plaintiffs firms in the country, for the past 12 consecutive years. Bernstein Liebhard LLP is the only firm in the country to be named to this prestigious list every year since the list was first published in 2003.

Bernstein Liebhard LLP
10 East 40th Street
New York, New York 10016
800-511-5092

ATTORNEY ADVERTISING. © 2014 Bernstein Liebhard LLP. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Bernstein Liebhard LLP, 10 East 40th Street, New York, New York 10016, 800-511-5092. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.

Contact Information:
Felecia L. Stern, Esq.
Bernstein Liebhard LLP
info(at)consumerinjurylawyers(dot)com
http://www.thegranuflolawsuit.com/
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SOURCE Bernstein Liebhard LLP