Court Order will Help Lawyers Investigate Heparin Lawsuits

The Judge overseeing all federal heparin lawsuits stemming from last year’s recall of contaminated blood thinner, has issued an order which will assist heparin lawyers during their investigation of cases for people who may have died from the counterfeit chemical found in much of the United States’ heparin supply between late 2007 and early 2008.

The order will allow attorneys to obtain medical records as part of their investigation and evaluation of potential cases without the need to open an estate and appoint a personal representative.

Problems with heparin began to surface in November 2007, when health officials started receiving an increasing number of adverse event reports involving severe allergic-type reactions associated with the use of blood thinner, especially when heparin was given in higher doses during certain surgeries and dialysis treatments.

Subsequent investigations identified the presence of a fake chemical, oversulfated chondroitin sulfate, in raw ingredients received from a manufacturing plant in China.

Hundreds of reports involving heparin allergic reactions were reported, and since many people who were given the blood thinner were already in poor health, at least 80 deaths have been linked to the use of contaminated heparin.

Many heparin recall lawyers who are investigating potential cases have encountered difficulty obtaining medical records for their deceased clients, as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 requires that an estate be opened and a personal representative be appointed before records can be released, which can be costly.

“It has come to the Court’s attention that Plaintiffs’ counsel, in the investigation of cases involving potentially contaminated Heparin, have met numerous obstacles in obtaining the pertinent medical records on behalf of those clients who are deceased,” wrote Chief Judge James G. Carr of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, in an order issued January 20, 2009.

Judge Carr, who is handling the consolidated heparin litigation MDL in Toledo, ordered that plaintiff’s counsel shall be considered the “personal representative” of the deceased individual for purposes of collecting medical records, eliminating the delays and costs associated with opening an estate before records can be evaluated.

Based on the order, healthcare providers will be able to produce records which lawyers believe are reasonably related to their deceased client’s use of heparin, potential health problems resulting from the heparin or conditions which led to the use of the blood thinner.