Recent changes to Tennessee law substantially limit the liability of those who sell dangerous or defective products.
The manufacturer of the product is the one that is primarily responsible if a dangerous or defective product kills or injures a person. The seller of the product is only responsible for the product if
Here is the latest on the fungal meningitis outbreak first discovered in Nashville and now spreading to other states:
There are still many unanswered questions about this entire tragedy and the answers to some of those questions will not be known for months and months.
The reports of fungal meningitis linked to a steroid methylprednisolone acetate injected into back pain patients continue to increase.
It now appears that some 47 patients in seven states have contracted the disease but it is almost certain that the number infected patients will increase. The public health officials of some 23 states have recovered potentially tainted steroid vials and are in the process of notifying patients that they may have received contaminated steroids. Seventy-five different facilities were shipped the steroid solution.
To date, the deaths of five people have been linked to the substance.
The fungal meningitis outbreak first discovered in Tennessee has been traced to a specialized compounding pharmacy in Massachusetts.
The New England Compounding Center produced the injections that are linked to at least 26 cases of fungal meningitis in five states – Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Florida.
New England Compounding Center is one of approximately 3000 compounding pharmacies in the United States. These pharmacies blend, liquefy or combine medications and supply them to hospitals or hospital clinics.
The fungal meningitis outbreak has expanded to 26 people in five states, each of whom received steroid injections. Four people have died, including two Tennesseans.
Tennessee has the most victims (18) followed by Virginia (3), Maryland (2), Florida (2) and North Carolina (1). In addition to the two deaths in Tennessee one person died in Virginia and another died in Maryland.
Meningitis is a infection of the membrane that surrounds the brain and spinal court. Media reports indicate that Aspergillus, a mold commonly found outdoors, is the infectious organism impacting these patients. This type of meningitis is not spread by person-to-person contact.
Two patients from the Specialty Surgery Center in Crossville, Tennessee have contracted fungal meningitis, according to a recent report of the Tennessee Department of Health as reported by Channel 2 News.
The facility has stopped performing lumbar steroid injections but has not been closed.
Earlier news reports indicated that the outbreak was limited to three facilities in Tennessee, with the Saint Thomas Outpatient Neurosurgery Center identified as first facility. Two patients from Saint Thomas have died because of the infection. The third facility has not been identified.
The maker of the steroid solution that was used at Saint Thomas Outpatient Neurosurgery Center has voluntarily recalled the product. However, theTennessean reports that there has been no definitive link between the steroid solution and the fungal meningitis infections that have injured nine people and killed two. The company that manufactured the solution has not been identified.
All of the infected patients received lumbar epidural steroid injections at the Saint Thomas Outpatient Neurosurgery Center between July 30, 2012 and September 20, 2012. All 737 patients who received the injections during this period have been contacted by the facility. The Center has now been voluntarily closed.
Meningitis is a infection of the membrane that surrounds the brain and spinal court. Media reports indicate that Aspergillus, a mold commonly found outdoors, is the infectious organism impacting the Saint Thomas patients. This type of meningitis is not spread by person-to-person contact.
An updated article in The Tennessean reveals that the meningitis outbreak at the Saint Thomas Outpatient Neurosurgery Clinic was caused by a fungus.
Some eleven patients have contracted a strain of fungal meningitis – all of them received epidural steroid injections at the Outpatient Neurosurgery Clinic between July 30 and September 20, 2012.
There is some evidence that pain-relieving injections themselves may be to blame in this case. The Tennessee Department of Health has indicated that the injections have been recalled and that patients in more than a dozen other states could be affected. One patient in another state allegedly contracted meningitis after receiving a epidural steroid injection.
BF Goodrich and Uniroyal, part of the Michelin North America tire company, have recalled more than 800,000 tires because of the risk of tire tread belt separation.
The voluntary safety recall occurred after quality-control workers noticed a report in problems with the tire – some 150 tires were reported to have problems. The tires were produced between April 2010 and the end of July 2012.
The tires being recalled are BR Goodrich commercial tires LT235/85 and LT245/75 and Uniroyal Laredo tires LT235/56 and LT245/75. The tires are typically used in commercial light trucks and full-sized heavy duty vans.
Are you in the market for a new vehicle? Are you interested in knowing the safest vehicles on the road?
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has released its list of the safest vehicles. The IIHS ranks crashworthiness as "good," "acceptable," "marginal" or "poor" based on "performance in high-speed front and side crash tests and a rollover test. The group also evaluates seat-head restraints for protection against neck injuries in rear impacts. To achieve the Top Safety Pick designation, the vehicle must achieve the highest possible rank of "good" in all four tests.
Tennessee Injury Law Center