A pharmaceutical company, New England Compounding Center of Massachusetts, has sold and delivered a tainted batch of steroid injections to doctors’ offices across the US. The injections are tained with a deadly strain of meningitis. The tainted injections have been blamed for at least 14 deaths thus far.
To date, almost 14,000 people have been given the bad medicine. Most of the people who have received the injections were given the medicine as a form of pain treatment for chronic back problems.
A Minnesota woman filed the first lawsuit last week in a federal court. She told the media that said she has experienced a high fever and nausea after getting an injection, and that she is anxiously awaiting test results.
Meningitis is an infection of the dura, the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms include headache, fever and nausea, and it must be treated quickly to improve one’s chances of survival and recovery.
The compounding company that manufactured the tainted product has recalled the product, surrendered its operating license and has said it is cooperating with the investigations.
Compounders often take drug ingredients and make specialized medicines for patients. Of the 23 states that have received shipments of the tainted medicine, only 11 of those have reported any cases of meningitis. The deaths that have occurred thus far have occurred in 6 of those states.
The CDC has reported that all people who might have received the injections in joints, including the back, knees, ankles, wrists, and shoulders, from the suspect product also should seek medical attention immediately.
At Davis Law Group, attorney Brian Davis has been handling defective product cases against pharmaceutical companies for over 22 years, serving those in and around Asheville, North Carolina, Hendersonville, Morganton, Hickory, Canton, Waynesville, Sylva, Clyde, Hayesville, and Bryson City.