Fungal Meningitis Victims Reach A $100 Million Settlement With New England Compounding Center Following Recall And 76 Deaths Allegedly Due To Receiving Tainted Steroidal Injections.
A purported $100 million settlement has been reached between victims in 23 states who suffered from fungal meningitis allegedly after receiving tainted steroid injections manufactured by New England Compounding Center (NECC). The tainted steroid injection lawsuits contend that 76 people died in 23 states after contracting fungal meningitis from the recalled injections. (MDL 2419: In Re: New England Compounding Pharmacy, Inc., Products Liability Litigation)
According to the Los Angeles (LA) Times, compensation to the victims in will be paid from a $100 million fund created by the NECC, which filed for bankruptcy protection and surrendered its pharmacy license after the nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak in 2012, in which 64 people died. According to court records the fungal meningits lawsuit settlement was filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Massachusetts where it is awaiting approval by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Henry Boroff. The settlement calls for $50 million to come from NECC’s owners, $25 million from insurers, $20 million from tax refunds and the remaining amount from a pending sale of another company, the Times reported. A plaintiff’s attorney told the news agency if the judge approves the settlement by the end of 2014, victims could begin receiving compensation by early next year. No criminal charges have been filed against NECC and the company owners have denied wrongdoing.
[latimes.com/nation/la-na-meningitis-settlement-20140507-story.html, May 7, 2014]
Fungal Meningitis Cases
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recorded a total of 751 fungal meningitis cases across the country, with Michigan reporting the most cases, 264, which included 19 fatalities. Tennessee was the second highest with 153 cases, which included 16 fatalities, followed by Indiana with a total of 93 cases, including 11 deaths. According to the CDC, NECC shipped the alleged tainted steroids to 76 facilities in 23 states before voluntarily recalling all of its products. On October 4, 2012, the CDC and the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) jointly recommended that all health care professions stop using the potentially contaminated medicine as well as any other pharmaceutical products produced by NECC. In that same month, the FDC and the CDC announced that lab results confirmed the outbreak was linked to the presence of a fungus known as Exserohilum rostratum found in unopened medication vials of preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate.
[cdc.gov/hai/outbreaks/meningitis-facilities-map.html]
[cdc.gov/hai/outbreaks/meningitis-map-large.html]
[fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm323946.htm, November 2, 2012]
Wright & Schulte LLC continues to offer free fungal meningitis lawsuit evaluations to victims of alleged tainted injections from contaminated steroids, as well as their families. Please visit yourlegalhelp.com, or call 1-800-399-0795 to learn more about your options for legal recourse.
