Reuters | Posted: 10/24/2012 6:59 am EDT
By Nick Brown
Oct 24 (Reuters) - Victims of a deadly U.S. meningitis outbreak are starting to sue the physicians and clinics that administered tainted steroid shots, and the success of the suits could hinge on whether judges decide the injections are subject to product liability or medical malpractice laws.
The drug-mixing pharmacy linked to the outbreak, the New England Compounding Center, already faces lawsuits related to the shots, as do its executives. But because the Massachusetts company is relatively small, patients exposed to meningitis are beginning to sue more well-insured defendants.
Plaintiffs have sued at least two physicians and orthopedic clinics in New Jersey that provided the injections, and legal experts predict similar cases against other doctors and clinics.
Such lawsuits, however, may hinge on whether courts define the tainted injections as products that were sold. In that case, hospitals and doctors could be sued for product liability and held responsible regardless of intent to harm. These strict standards are part of most state product liability laws.
However, if courts define an injection as a service, plaintiffs likely would face the tougher task of showing negligence under medical malpractice laws.
"The question will be whether the doctor or hospital failed to investigate the competence and safety of the steroids, and you'll have to put some flesh on those bones," said personal injury lawyer Fred Thompson of law firm Motley Rice.
Motley Rice plans to sue NECC on behalf of meningitis plaintiffs in the next several days, said another attorney at the firm, Don Migliori. The lawsuits may expand over time to include other defendants, he said.
Read full story here
By Nick Brown
Oct 24 (Reuters) - Victims of a deadly U.S. meningitis outbreak are starting to sue the physicians and clinics that administered tainted steroid shots, and the success of the suits could hinge on whether judges decide the injections are subject to product liability or medical malpractice laws.
The drug-mixing pharmacy linked to the outbreak, the New England Compounding Center, already faces lawsuits related to the shots, as do its executives. But because the Massachusetts company is relatively small, patients exposed to meningitis are beginning to sue more well-insured defendants.
Plaintiffs have sued at least two physicians and orthopedic clinics in New Jersey that provided the injections, and legal experts predict similar cases against other doctors and clinics.
Such lawsuits, however, may hinge on whether courts define the tainted injections as products that were sold. In that case, hospitals and doctors could be sued for product liability and held responsible regardless of intent to harm. These strict standards are part of most state product liability laws.
However, if courts define an injection as a service, plaintiffs likely would face the tougher task of showing negligence under medical malpractice laws.
"The question will be whether the doctor or hospital failed to investigate the competence and safety of the steroids, and you'll have to put some flesh on those bones," said personal injury lawyer Fred Thompson of law firm Motley Rice.
Motley Rice plans to sue NECC on behalf of meningitis plaintiffs in the next several days, said another attorney at the firm, Don Migliori. The lawsuits may expand over time to include other defendants, he said.
Read full story here
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