Fixodent Lawsuit Scheduled for Trial June 2011

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The first fixodent lawsuit in the federal denture cream litigation has been scheduled to go to trial next summer, involving a claim that zinc contained in the popular denture adhesive caused the plaintiff to suffer debilitating neuological injuries. 

U.S. District Court Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga issued an order earlier this month scheduling a bellwether Fixodent trial to begin on June 6, 2011. The Fixodent suit was brought by Marianne and Daniel Chapman, of Florida, who claim that Proctor and Gamble failed to warn consumers that their denture adhesive contained zinc, which can enter the body at high levels when the denture cream is used, leading to permanent injuries from zinc poisoning.

The Chapmans’ lawsuit is among a growing number of cases that have been consolidated and centralized in federal court as part of a denture cream multidistrict litigation (MDL). At least 38 denture cream lawsuits have been consolidated for pretrial proceedings in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

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The litigation consists of lawsuits over Fixodent, as well as Super Poligrip lawsuits filed over GlaxoSmithKline’s competing denture adhesive, which also contains zinc. The complaints involve similar allegations that the manufacturers failed to disclose that the denture creams contain zinc, which can lead to neurological problems like neuropathy, numbness, tingling, pain, weakness, loss of sensation, loss of balance, paralysis and difficulty breathing.

GlaxoSmithKline reported earlier this month that in the vast majority of cases filed against them, they have reached Super Poligrip settlement agreements. No such settlements have been reported in Fixodent cases, and Proctor & Gamble has previously indicated an intention to defend the cases.

The Chapmans’ Fixodent lawsuit is being considered a bellwether trial, meaning that denture cream lawyers for the plaintiffs and Proctor & Gamble’s Fixodent lawyers are going to use the trial to gauge how the jury responds to expert testimony, evidence and arguments that are likely to be repeated in other cases. The decision from that trial may help lead to a Fixodent settlement or other resolution for the remaining litigation.

In the case, Marianne Chapman alleges that she suffered severe, permanent and disabling injuries, as well as disfigurement, pain and suffering, disability, mental anguish and the loss of capacity for enjoying life, medical costs, and lost earnings due to the side effects of Fixodent. The lawsuit charges P&G with strict liability, negligence, intentional misrepresentation, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, violation of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and loss of consortium on behalf of Daniel Chapman.

In a Pre-Trial Scheduling Order issued August 5, Judge Altonaga ordered the parties to complete mediation by March 28, 2011 in an attempt to settle the Fixodent case.

Tags: Denture Adhesive, Denture Cream, Fixodent, Florida, GlaxoSmithKline, Poligrip, Proctor and Gamble, Super Poligrip
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16 Comments

charlotte
I have had numbness in my legs and feet also and sores in my mouth
kelly
I was diagnosed with fibro in 2001 and had all my teeth pulled in 2002 (upper)and2003(lower) My health has deteriorated since the oral surgeries. I would never have put this all together had I not seen an article in a magazine(I cannot remember which one)about 6 months ago. I had just started noticing a lot of sores in my mouth around my tongue ,the inside of my cheeks and inside my upper and lower lip. It burns very bad if I try to eat anything salty or spicy!
deborah
i have been using fixodent since 1995. in 2009 i started have a burning tingling in my hands and feet it has spread to my hole body now .i have been diagnosed with a neuropathy. its hurts to walk my blanche it not very good . their day when i can remember thing i’m still working but it’s very had on me
Dwana
i have been using Fixodent since 1990 when I received my first lower andupper denture. I have been diagnosed with neuropathy in my legs cannot walk well intense pain, numbness & tingling arms & legs, carpel tunal and skin problems my face.
Carol
I have used fixodent for 21 years. I have neuropathy in my arms and legs cannot walk well intense pain, mental anguish, I cannot enjoy life pleasures camping or traveling many medical costs and I had to quit my job teaching school. I have just found out to danger of using this product. When I read how “Marianne Chapman alleges that she suffered severe, permanent and disabling injuries, as well as disfigurement, pain and suffering, disability, mental anguish and the loss of capacity for enjoying life, medical costs, and lost earnings due to the side effects of Fixodent” I immediately related because I have the same problems..
Carol
I have been using Fixodent since 1983 when I received my first upper denture. I have been diagnosed with SLE (lupus) , fibromyalgia, episode of Optic neuropathy in the right eye, degenerative arthritis, myelopathy, oral ulcers, numbness & tingling arms & legs, carpel tunal and I can add skin problems for a long time with my hands but now my face. I have a syrinx in the spine also. I still use fixodent but I will look for something else tomorrow. I am angry with pharmacutical companies.
Peggy
I have used a lot of denture cream for the last 11 years because the I don’t have much of an arch in the roof of my mouth. I have quite a few problems with my health that I didn’t have before using denture cream. I have headaches every single day, my balance is off, I have tingling in my hands and feet, I get cramps in all of my muscles; you can watch my legs and toes cramp. It is weird and feels worse. My hands shake quite a bit. My joints hurt and ache all the time. What is extremely weird is that my face jerks now, and I hate it. Besides feeling weird, it probably looks worse. I have been anemic, and the doctor has been having me try taking vitamin B12 sublingual and iron. I just cannot believe anyone would refuse to take something off the market if people were becoming hurt by using it. It makes no sense to me. I just wish I would have known that using something which includes zinc could cause so many medical problems.
Sharron
I there anything that we can use that is safe!
Viola
I used fixodent and super polygrip for years. But now I have crowns and implants. However for years I was anemic and finally about two years ago it became so critical I needed infusions . They could not find the cause for my anemia but mentioned that I had an extremely low amount of copper in my blood which could not be explained. my anemia was debilitating and has caused damage to my organs. I also underwent surgery to prevent me from menstruation as that would add to my low red blood cell count. Now I learn that denture cream could cause a zinc overdose and low copper which adds up to my anemia. I also have severe memory loss. I was treated at the Dana Farber Cancer Institue for the anemia and they were never able to diagnos the cause for the acute anemia. If this was due to zinc poisoning then I am going to seek some justification . I gave up my career, the ability to have more children and I have liver and kidney damage. I also have no memory of large gaps in my life . But I certainly recall using denture cream through out the day for many many years. I will follow these caes closely.
Frank
This will be the case to watch. All future cases could possibly use the results of this one as basis for future lawsuits, especially if the results could pertain to suits arising here in Canada. I am a long time user of fixodent (25 years)I have been suffering with many of the listed symptoms for a long time.
Douglas
Loosing the feeling in both feet, have constant joint pain. 5 years ago when I retired my hearing was tested. 20% loss in left ear 15 in right. 5 years later. 80% in left and 60% in my right. Dr’s have done both types of MRI and scanes. Said nothing wrong with the Hammer , anvil and strup. Said the nerve was dying. I have to wear my dentures all of the time even when I sleep. Im on a c-pap machine when I sleep. And the only way I can stand it is with my teeth in. Have use fix-a-dent for over 20 years. Had vertigo for 6 days in a row second week of jan this year. Have trouble breathing sometimes. Alot of the times my hands feel like they have gone to sleep? Two different ear Dr’s have told me, my rapid hearing loss is not normal. That bothers me more than the vertigo, that comes and goes. I take diazapan 5mg for that and it works pretty good.
Kim
I starting losing the feeling in my feet in 2006. It started with just tingling then it was burning stabbing pains. It was so bad I couldn’t sleep at night. I had two emg’s that showed neuropathy but no one could figure out why. I am not diabetic. I was even tested for heavy metal poisening but that came back negative. I can’t balance on my toes and have been taking an expensive medication for two years that is usually used for diabetics. When I read about the zinc poisening all my symptoms finally made sense. Right now I am so angry and don’t know how to proceed.
E.HANNAH
I have went through hell due too denture cream i am in the process of taking legal action against product makers. My quality of life at this moment in time is rubbish.I have a full medical paper trail from my doctor via 2 hospitals where I was diagnosed with bone marrow failure in hospital then admitted to another hospital where I was diagnosed with severe neuropathy due zinc poisoning, since stopping using denture cream my bone marrow is now working perfectly
Leslie
MY MOTHER HAS THE NUMBNESS & STABBING PAINS AT THE BOTTOM OF HER FEET. SHE ALSO HAS NO FEELING TO HER RIGHT HAND. BUT SHE WAS DIAGNOSED W/GUILLAINE BARRE SYNDROME & VASCULITIS W/RENAL FAILURE. SHE RECIEVED THE H1N1 VACINE ON FEBRUARY 1, 2010. SHES ON DIALYSIS 3X/WK. AND MY MOTHER IS NOT DIABETIC.
Stephen
High blood sugar corrodes the blood vessels in your body but it is fat in your blood stream that blocks the tiny blood vessels in your feet and shuts off blood flow to nerves in your feet causing pain. So, you need to minimize the fat in your diet to minimize the pain. Also, weakness in arms and legs and hands and feet is a symptom of diabetes as far as I have read.
Denise
I HAVE REALLY BAD NUMBNESS AND STABBING PAINS IN MY FEET AND LEGS,EVERYTIME IVE TALKED TO THE DR THEY SAY ITS FROM DIABETES, BUT I NEVER BELIEVED IT WAS JUST FROM THAT.I ALSO HAVE WEAKNESS IN BOTH OF MY HANDS AND IT HAS STARTED IN MY LEGS.I HAVE BEEN USING FIXADENT FOR SEVERAL YEARS.THESE PROBLEMS STARTED ABOUT 3 YEARS AGO ,AND PROGGRESIVELY GOTTEN WORSE.

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