› $4.85 Billion settlement in drug case
As many as 300 product-liability lawsuits may be filed in the Illinois state court against drug maker Baxter International Inc., by people injured by or families who lost loved ones to contaminated batches of the blood thinner heparin. Per a judge’s order last year, attorneys are working to convert an aggregate lawsuit to individual claims against the Deerfield, Illinois-based drug company.
Four lawsuits were filed last month in Cook County, Illinois court against the makers of the blood thinner heparin, claiming the product the company manufactured was contaminated and caused patients to die.
The insurance companies for Scientific Protein Laboratories’ parent company, American Capital Ltd., are suing to nullify the policies with the laboratory, according to The Daily Record. The Wisconsin-based company entered a joint venture with Baxter International Inc. to produce heparin in China. Last year, heparin produced at that plant was found to have been contaminated with oversulfated chondroitin sulfate (OSCS), a heparin-mimicking material that can cause life-threatening allergic reactions. The contaminated heparin killed more than 80 people in the U.S. and sickened hundreds more before several batches of the blood thinner were recalled.
Another lawsuit has been filed against the Wisconsin-based heparin manufacturer, Scientific Protein Laboratories and one of its major distributors, Baxter International Inc., claiming the companies allowed contaminated batches of heparin to reach hospitals and medical facilities, where it led to the death of a 59-year-old hemodialysis patient, according to The News-Enterprise.
