Monday, March 4, 2013

Meningitis outbreak: Saint Thomas clinic blames FDA, state officials

Mar. 4, 2013 5:49 PM

Lawyers for the clinic where dozens of patients were injected with tainted spinal steroids say the FDA and state officials in Tennessee and Massachusetts bear responsibility for the fatal outbreak of fungal meningitis.
In a 55-page answer to a suit pending in Davidson County Circuit Court, lawyers for the Saint Thomas Outpatient Neurosurgery Center say the facility “complied with the acceptable standard of professional practice and acted without wrongdoing” in selecting a Massachusetts firm as the source of drugs.
“The defendants deny that Ms. Reed is entitled to any recovery,” the filing submitted by lawyers with Gideon, Cooper & Essary PLC states.
The filing came in a lawsuit filed by Wayne Reed, whose wife and caregiver, Diana Reed, died from fungal meningitis after treatment at the clinic. Reed died on Oct. 3, 2012, after receiving three injections of methylprednisolone acetate at the Nashville clinic.
In addition to the government agencies, the clinic’s answer charges that the owners and operators of the New England Compounding Center and its sales company bear responsibility. The salesmen were identified as John Notarianni and Mario Giamei of Medical Sales Management, NECC’s sales arm.

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