A $25 million wrongful death lawsuit has been filed by the family of a man that died after generic steroids tainted with meningitis were administered by a clinic, instead of the name brand steroids he was billed for, as reported by the San Francisco Gate.
The Insight Imaging clinic of Roanoke allegedly administered the generic substitute steroid while patients were led to believe that they were receiving a federally approved drug.
The suit has been filed in Roanoke Circuit Court.
According to the suit, D.W. died as a direct result of the clinic's misrepresentations. Statements, and other records, indicated that the Depo-Medrol steroid was administered. However, the actual steroid injected had been manufactured by a small Massachusetts-based pharmacy instead.
Though over 30 lawsuits have been filed since the meningitis outbreak, according to The Roanoke Times, D.W.'s case includes more details against Insight Imaging than previous claims have.
The family contends that the clinic chose the cheaper steroid version, unbeknownst to their clients, to defray their own costs. The suit states, "They put profits over patient care."
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 19 states have reported a total of 39 deaths and 600 illnesses that link to the meningitis outbreak that began in September.
The pharmacy in Massachusetts that fabricated the steroid, the New England Compounding Center of Massachusetts, sold over 600 doses to Insight Imaging that had been used months before the reported outbreak.
As D.W. was not the only patient requiring steroid injections, there has been much speculation that even more lawsuits will be filed.
The D.W. lawsuit contends that Insight Imaging should have known that the generic steroid being made for them was suspect. Small operations that make compounds usually do it only for specific patents.
However, since the compounds are not available commercially, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration do not regulate the small pharmacies.
The suit states, "Insight Imaging-Roanoke and its employees and agents had a duty to know what they were injecting into patients, including Mr. (D.W.)"
Statements and other reports are included in the lawsuit – that specifically show that Insight Imaging named the drug Depo-Medrol in its records as the drug administered to D.W.
The reports also prove that insurance company billings listed the steroid as Depo-Medrol and not as a generic drug. The reason for this, according to the suit, was because insurance companies don't always cover generically made steroids from compounding pharmacies.
The New England Compounding Center of Massachusetts has since filed for bankruptcy protection in the wake of the meningitis outbreak and subsequent lawsuits.
S.W., 47, received an epidural steroid injection on September 6 to relieve pain from a pinched nerve. He soon began experiencing intense headaches and a strong sensitivity to light and noise. Once hospitalized he began having several strokes. He died on September 18.
Death due to a tainted drug is grounds for a wrongful death lawsuit. If you believe that you have lost a loved one due to another party's negligence contact a personal injury lawyer for help today!