A ruling by a U.S. bankruptcy judge late last month allows Tennessee victims of last year’s deadly meningitis outbreak to pursue a new avenue of litigation against doctors and healthcare facilities in the state. Tennessee had the second highest number of fungal meningitis cases, after Michigan, in an outbreak that has injured or killed more than 700 people across the country. According to reports, there were roughly 65 doctors and healthcare facilities in Tennessee on the customer list of the New England Compounding Center (NECC) – the company that authorities say produced and shipped the contaminated steroid at the center of the devastating meningitis crisis. If you have been adversely affected by the meningitis outbreak in Tennessee because of a tainted steroid injection from the New England Compounding Center, contact our experienced attorneys at Michael D. Ponce & Associates today for legal help.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Henry J. Boroff ruled on July 24 that NECC was insolvent, clearing the way for victims of the meningitis outbreak in Tennessee to file product liability claims against healthcare clinics, medical providers and other sellers of the contaminated steroid injection throughout the state. NECC, which is based in Framingham, Massachusetts, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the aftermath of the nationwide meningitis outbreak, and without the insolvency ruling, meningitis victims in TN would only have been able to pursue professional or medical negligence claims under Tennessee law. The winning motion was filed by attorneys representing Bertram Walker Bryant Jr., a Tennessee man whose wife died after receiving a contaminated steroid injection at a medical center in Nashville.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there have been 15 deaths and 153 meningitis-related cases in Tennessee alone, compared to the hardest-hit state, Michigan, which had 17 deaths and 264 total meningitis cases. The recent ruling by the bankruptcy judge allows plaintiffs affected by the tainted injections to file product liability claims through the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, where a number of meningitis-related lawsuits are being consolidated. If you or a loved one has been affected by the meningitis crisis in Tennessee, consult our knowledgeable lawyers at Michael D. Ponce & Associates to discuss your legal options. You may have grounds to file a product liability lawsuit against the doctor or healthcare facility that administered the steroid injection, in order to pursue the financial compensation you deserve for your losses.
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/26/usa-health-meningitis-idUSL1N0FW1TK20130726
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