First Florida Lawsuit Filed in Meningitis Outbreak
An 87-year-old Reddick man who was allegedly paralyzed after receiving an injection of contaminated steroids for hip pain has filed a lawsuit against New England Compounding Company (NECC), the company implicated in manufacturing and distributing contaminated pain-killing drugs that so far have been linked to 281 cases of fungal meningitis and 23 deaths nationwide.
This lawsuit, which was filed in Orange County, is apparently the first in Florida to accuse NECC of negligence. So far, about a dozen similar lawsuits have been filed in other states in connection with the fungal meningitis outbreak, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
The lawsuit accuses the Massachusetts compounding pharmacy of negligence and fraud, claiming that it exposed thousands of people to “unsterile steroids” and that the company circumvented U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations designed to keep people safe from dangerous drugs.
“This is an example of what happens when greed and profits overtake the safety of people,” the attorney for the man and his wife told the Orlando Sentinel.
The man’s daughter said that her father, a retired laboratory technician, was a strong, vibrant man until he received an injection of the contaminated steroid from the Marion Pain Management Center in Ocala. She says that prior to getting the injection, her father was walking and talking and leading a normal life. Now, he’s being fed through a tube, he can’t move, and he can barely talk.
“I don’t know if he’s going to survive,” she told the Sentinel.
So far, 13 people have been sickened and three have died in Florida in connection with the fungal meningitis outbreak.
If you or someone you love has contracted fungal meningitis due to contaminated steroid injections, contact a Florida fungal meningitis injection lawyer at Farah & Farah to discuss your legal options. Our firm has the resources and experience you will need to tackle these often complex cases. Call us at (800) 533-3555 for a free review of your case.
By Eddie Farah
