Baxter Heparin Recall Lawsuits Scheduled for Trials to Begin November 2010
Published: September 30th, 2009 • Comments: 2
The first product liability trial over defective batches of the blood thinner heparin, which were used throughout the United States from late 2007 to early 2008 and may have killed 81 people and sickened hundreds more, has been scheduled to begin in November 2010.
At least 50 heparin recall lawsuits are currently consolidated for pretrial proceedings as part of an MDL, or multidistrict litigation, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. All of the cases involve similar allegations that tainted lots of heparin distributed by Baxter Healthcare caused severe and potentially life-threatening allergic-type reactions.
A Baxter heparin recall was issued in January 2008 after a spike in adverse event reports surfaced involving reactions to heparin, an anticoagulant or blood thinner that is critical for a number of medical procedures and conditions.
At that time, Baxter manufactured about half of the injectable heparin sold in the United States and it was discovered that the heparin contained a fake ingredient received from a plant in China that was chemically similar to heparin, yet substantially cheaper.
Investigations by the FDA and a report published in the New England Journal of Medicine in December 2008 found that the heparin reactions were caused by the presence of oversulfated chondroitin sulfate. FDA investigators and researchers believe the fake ingredient was used for fraudulent purposes, to save money.
According to a scheduling order issued last week, U.S. District Judge James Garr ordered that the first individual trial in the Baxter heparin litigation will begin on November 2, 2010. Selection of which case or cases will be tried during the first jury trial is expected to occur by May 1, 2010.
Comment by clay on 1 October 2009:
I had back surgery in 2004 at Tampa general hospital. During my stay i was given heparin on a daily basis. The first time I attempted to walk I blacked out and was told I had 4 large blood clots enter my lungs. I stayed in the hospital for 40 days dealind with all the clots. I was told I had h.i.t., heparin induced thrombocytopiena. Since I have had extreme lung and heart problems.
Comment by Tina on 14 January 2010:
I had vascular surgery in Chi. in Jan of 08. I almost died. I had 4 emergency surgeries. i was given a lot of heparin. I stopped breathing and was put on a respirator. My surgeon put me in a coma for about a week. I almost lost my whole hand. I aparently developed multi clots in my neck and left arm. and my surgeon thought I might have Hit.He worked very hard at getting them out, but he couldn’t get all of the clots out. He told my husband that in all the years he has been doing this surgery he has never seen cloting like I had. The last two years have been like hell. My fingers are stilll autoamputating and I still do not have most of my movements back in my hand. I went through so many things in the hospital and since I have gone home. i was fired 6 months after surgery. I used to work with both of my hands. I have not been able to get another job.