There has been a recent outbreak of a rare meningitis fungal infection across the country, with 14 people dead at this time and another 170 cases of people currently being treated. That number continues to rise each day, as there is a potential for what is believed to be 14,000 patients who were exposed to the fungus. Each of these patients received a
steroid injection within the past few months directly into their spine to address back pain problems; little did they know that their lives would soon be at risk.
This product came from the New England Compounding Center located in Massachusetts and was distributed to over 20 different states across the U.S. According to the Massachusetts Department of Public health, the pharmacy violated many laws regarding their production. Because this is a pharmacy and not a large scull drug manufacturing company, they violated laws by selling their products on such a large scale. These types of companies are only to do patient specific medications and prescriptions, not state wide distributions.
At this time of the 170 cases that have been discovered they are in 11 of the 20 or more states, and the CDC has only been able to track down 12,000 of the 14,000 potential victims. The illnesses started appearing last month because this infection can take weeks before a person feels the effects, one person claimed their symptoms began 42 days after their treatment. The majority of the vials of the steroid were sent to Tennessee, which is where most of the illnesses are at this time.
One lady from Minnesota has started what is believed to be a very big trend in the legal world; she has decided to sue the Massachusetts pharmacy after she began to feel the symptoms of the outbreak. At this time she is still waiting for her test results to confirm the infection. This outbreak has led to a huge scandal, and Senator Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut has insisted that the investigators conduct a criminal probe of the pharmacy as well.
So far investigators have already discovered the pharmacies violation of their license, and it is believed that there will be other violations that will arise in the near future. There is great fear and concern for the remaining victims whom the authorities have been unable to reach; about 2,000 people are at serious risk for getting sick and not knowing the cause. If you or someone you know has been a victim of this sort of medical malpractice, consider contacting a personal injury attorney who can help fight for you. No person deserves to have this happen to them, and if you are a victim you have the right to seek compensation. Call McGee | Lerer & Associates today for the legal representation you deserve!