This guest post is courtesy of San Diego trial lawyer Dwight Ritter.
The recent fungal meningitis outbreak, which stems from contaminated steroid injections made by the New England Compounding Center, Inc., has now spread into another state, Rhode Island, as of Monday, October 29, making it the 19th state to be affected by these dangerous injections.
Unfortunately, 347 people across the United States have been affected by the fungal meningitis outbreak, with 25 dying of this deadly and rare infection. This steroid, which was marketed and produced in an effort to mainly provide relief from back pain (although some also used it to relieve joint pain), was manufactured in unsterile conditions, allowing contamination to occur during the compounding process. For far too many patients who trusted this manufacturing company to produce safe-to-use products, this has, sadly, led to the development of meningitis, an infection of the membrane on the brain and spinal cord that causes a person to suffer the following side effects:
- Fever
- Chills
- Nausea
- Migraines or very painful headaches
- Disorientation and moodiness
- Lack of or decreased consciousness
- Stiff neck (known as meningismus)
For the hundreds of victims and their families who have been impacted by the negligence of the New England Compounding Center, Inc., the repercussions have been great and even tragic in many circumstances. As a result, many of these people have chosen to file a product liability claim against the company in an effort to obtain compensation for their pain, suffering, and other losses. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicts that more of the 13,000 people who were given these contaminated injections will develop an infection as a result, the number of people fighting for compensation will likely rise.
Fortunately for those seeking compensation, personal injury law clearly states that product manufacturers, producers, and distributors have a duty to safely and responsibly create and market their products, which includes using clean facilities during the manufacturing process. However, as filing a product liability claim is never easy, affected individuals may want to retain the services of a qualified personal injury lawyer in an effort to give themselves the best chance possible of securing the financial compensation they need. And, as the number of those affected is likely to continue to increase, many more people may begin seeking the services of a knowledgeable attorney to represent them in this difficult situation.
