Meningitis Outbreak Leading To Lawsuits Against Doctors, Hospitals

Many people have trusted family doctors or medical professionals that they will see if they are having health problems. They trust in the care being provided, and know that the treatments being administered will improve their health. If it is necessary to take medication or receive an injection, they expect that this will only aid in their recovery.

Unfortunately, many people across the United States recently received injections that have led to fungal meningitis and other health problems. The tainted drugs have even led to at least 36 deaths. According to the Centers for Disease Control, there have been 38 cases related to the botched injections.

Problem at compounding facility

The problems apparently started at a drug compounding facility in Framingham, Massachusetts. Patients nationwide received epidural steroid injections to help with back or leg or other types of pain. When unopened vials of the drugs were examined by officials, they discovered that a fungus was present.

This has led to several questions about the regulation of drug compounding facilities, and the use of these drugs by physicians. Many of the drugs used or dispensed by pharmacies come from drug manufactures that produce large quantities of their products. Drug compounding facilities are used when changes need to be made to these products. For example, some patients may be too young or too old to take the pill form of certain drugs. Compounding would be used in this situation to turn the pill into a liquid form of the drug that can be taken more easily.

Barriers to patients recovering damages

Those patients that received the defective drugs in the fungal meningitis outbreak might be facing challenges if looking to recover damages for their illnesses. The compounding facility’s owners have been named in many lawsuits, and may not have enough assets to pay all of the judgments that may be entered against them.

This has led to many patients filing claims against their healthcare providers, including hospitals and clinics where they received the injections, under medical malpractice and products liability theories. Many of these claims are in their early stages, and it is uncertain how they will proceed.

Talk to a lawyer

If you have been injured due to the actions of a medical professional, speak with an experienced personal injury attorney to understand what you can do to recover compensation. These cases are extremely complicated, and can often end up in a battle of experts.

Working with an attorney that has handled these cases in the past will allow you to know what options are available in your case. With the meningitis outbreak, many patients have experienced very serious health issues, and it is important to know how this will impact them in the long-term.