First Status Conference in Granuflo MDL Scheduled for Aug 30

August 9, 2013 — Fresenius Medical Care is facing hundreds of Granuflo and Naturalyte lawsuits throughout the United States. Most of these lawsuits have been centralized in a federal Multi-District Litigation (MDL), which is similar to a class action. The litigation is proceeding rapidly, lawyers have been appointed to leadership positions, and the first status conference has been scheduled for August 30.

Granuflo and Naturalyte Litigation: MDL 2428: In Re: Fresenius Granuflo/Naturalyte Dialysate Products Liability Litigation.

The conference will take place in Boston, Massachusetts, before Judge Douglas P. Woodlock in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Legal counsel for plaintiffs and Fresenius will meet to discuss the status of pending motions and the organization of upcoming pre-trial proceedings.

The MDL contains nearly 200 lawsuits, with an additional 700 lawsuits pending in state courts that may be transferred to the MDL. New lawsuits continue to be filed on behalf of people who suffered heart attacks during or after dialysis treatment. Fresenius could ultimately face thousands of Granuflo and Naturalyte lawsuits.

Fresenius is accused of failing to warn doctors, patients, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about the risk of bicarbonate overdose errors associated with GranuFlo and Naturalyte. In an internal memo, Fresenius attributed more than 941 cardiopulmonary arrests to bicarbonate overdoses in 2010. When the memo was leaked to the FDA in 2012, Fresenius issued a Class I recall of the products.

Granuflo and Naturalyte side effects include:

• cardiac arrest
• heart attack
• cardiopulmonary arrest
• irregular heart rhythm
• death