Tuesday, December 18, 2012
A pharmacy that produced tainted drugs linked to a
meningitis outbreak sits next to a waste recycling facility that might have been
the source of contamination, according to the latest round in a wave of
lawsuits.
The allegations are made in five lawsuits, filed late last week in Roanoke’s federal court, that bring the total number of cases in the region to at least 31.
In all of the cases, patients in pain claim their suffering was worsened by dirty steroid injections of a drug, produced by New England Compounding Center of Massachusetts, that gave them fungal meningitis.
The latest lawsuits advance a new claim: that the drug made by New England Compounding might have been contaminated by debris and dust from a next-door recycling plant.
Knowing of the risks posed by the operation, New England Compounding "engaged in what amounted to ‘Russian Roulette’ with its practices," lawyers from the Roanoke firm of Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore alleged on behalf of five patients.
The lawsuits strongly suggest, but do not state definitively, that operations at New England Compounding’s facility in Framingham, Mass., were affected by Conigliaro Enterprises.
Owned by Gregory Conigliaro, who also co-owns New England Compounding, the dump "receives many varieties of garbage that are sorted, stored and manipulated just outside the back door" of New England Compounding’s facility, the lawsuit states.
Officials at New England Compounding "knew or had reasons to know" of the risks posed by Conigliaro Enterprises, lawyers allege.
The recycling facility is not named in as a defendant in the lawsuits. New England Compounding has declined to comment in the past on the lawsuits.
It’s unclear just how many lawsuits have been filed against the center in state and federal courts across the country.
"But it stands to reason there will be hundreds filed," said Scott Sexton, an attorney at Gentry Locke who filed the cases in U.S. District Court in Roanoke.
The allegations are made in five lawsuits, filed late last week in Roanoke’s federal court, that bring the total number of cases in the region to at least 31.
In all of the cases, patients in pain claim their suffering was worsened by dirty steroid injections of a drug, produced by New England Compounding Center of Massachusetts, that gave them fungal meningitis.
The latest lawsuits advance a new claim: that the drug made by New England Compounding might have been contaminated by debris and dust from a next-door recycling plant.
Knowing of the risks posed by the operation, New England Compounding "engaged in what amounted to ‘Russian Roulette’ with its practices," lawyers from the Roanoke firm of Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore alleged on behalf of five patients.
The lawsuits strongly suggest, but do not state definitively, that operations at New England Compounding’s facility in Framingham, Mass., were affected by Conigliaro Enterprises.
Owned by Gregory Conigliaro, who also co-owns New England Compounding, the dump "receives many varieties of garbage that are sorted, stored and manipulated just outside the back door" of New England Compounding’s facility, the lawsuit states.
Officials at New England Compounding "knew or had reasons to know" of the risks posed by Conigliaro Enterprises, lawyers allege.
The recycling facility is not named in as a defendant in the lawsuits. New England Compounding has declined to comment in the past on the lawsuits.
It’s unclear just how many lawsuits have been filed against the center in state and federal courts across the country.
"But it stands to reason there will be hundreds filed," said Scott Sexton, an attorney at Gentry Locke who filed the cases in U.S. District Court in Roanoke.
Source found here
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