You may have heard of some of the Fresenius GranuFlo© cases across the Northern Mississippi and Memphis, Tennessee metro areas. These are class action suits based upon claims made by patients and patients’ families relating to cardiac failure after receiving dialysis at various Fresenius dialysis clinics.
As an experienced medical malpractice attorney in Southaven, Mississippi serving Northern Mississippi and the Memphis metro area, I thought I’d address these claims and help explain what is going on.
To best explain the situation, I’ll use the help of an article from Allnurses.com.
At the end of a four-day conference in 2009, it was found that many cardiac deaths, the number one cause of death for dialysis patients, were not caused buy atherosclerotic disease but rather by uremic cardiomyopathy.
Studies on the topic noted that GranuFlo contained sodium diacetate, possibly linked to the problem in patients. The problem with GranuFlo, alkalosis, and sudden cardiac death was that it was not discovered until 2010, after FDA approval.
Sadly, it appears that Fresenius Medical Care knew as early as 2010 that there may be a link between high total buffer levels and the risk of cardiac arrest.
It is believed by many that the FDA received information on the alkalosis problem with GranuFlo from Fresenius anonymous source in early 2012.
Fresenius Medical Care started as many medical product companies, with its two top executives not being doctors. They agreed to address these medical concerns with their own patients as medical product sales and development experts but hesitated to inform consumers out of fear of losing a share of the market.
These deaths have broken the hearts of many family members who truly believed their loved ones were safe as they used these products and received dialysis treatments. If you or a loved one has suffered because of the use of Fresenius GranuFlo, contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney right away to discuss your options.
Leave a Reply