Poligrip Nerve Damage Lawsuit Filed by Pennsylvania Woman

A Pennsylvania woman has filed a product liability lawsuit against GlaxoSmithKline, alleging that she suffered nerve damage from Super Poligrip denture cream. 

Terri Charpentier, 41, filed the Poligrip lawsuit on May 6 in Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, according to a report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The nerve damage lawsuit names GlaxoSmithKline and its subsidiaries as defendants.

According to the complaint, high levels of zinc in Super Poligrip caused Charpentier to suffer neuropathy, and she is now unable to walk or drive without assistance. Charpentier alleges that her nerve injury has impacted her ability to maintain her clerical job and support her two children. At first, Charpentier’s injuries resulted in her having to use a wheelchair, but she is now able to use a walker or cane to get around.

Increased levels of zinc in the body can deplete copper levels, causing a condition known as hypocupremia, which is known to increase the risk of significant neurological problems that can leave users with permanent and debilitating physical injuries. Although the recommended daily allowance of zinc is 11 mg for men and 8 mg for women, with 40 mg being the maximum amount of zinc that can be safely tolerated, some denture creams have been found to expose users to levels as high as 330 mg per day.

Zinc is believed to help with the adhesive properties of the denture creams. However, until recently neither GlaxoSmithKline did not alert users that zinc was an ingredient in Poligrip denture adhesive.

In February GlaxoSmithKline announced that it is discontinuing all of its zinc-based denture creams, including Super Poligrip Original, Ultra Fresh and Extra Care. The products will be replaced with zinc free creams in the near future, the company has said

A large number of denture cream lawsuits have been filed against GlaxoSmithKline over its Poligrip cream and against Proctor & Gamble over its Fixodent denture adhesive. Dozens of cases filed in federal courts throughout the United States have been centralized in a denture cream multidistrict litigation (MDL) for coordinated pretrial litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.