Trasylol Lawsuits Transferred to a Miami Federal Court
The federal lawsuits filed against Bayer AG over the anti-bleeding drug Trasylol have been consolidated and transferred to a Miami federal court.
On April 7, the transfer order was issued by the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. Because of the national scope of the litigation, the common factual questions regarding the drug’s safety profile, and the similar questions raised over the adequacy of the warnings provided by Bayer, the panel concluded that consolidation was appropriate.
In addition, the panel ruled that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida is a convenient forum. The Miami metropolitan area is easily accessible and the district has a low number of MDL dockets, the panel wrote. It assigned the litigation to U.S. District Court Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks.
On March 10, John J. Carey of Carey & Danis and Jeffrey J. Lowe of The Lowe Law Firm filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on behalf of a widow whose husband died of kidney failure after open-heart surgery.
On Dec. 16, 2005, Samuel Nakis, 81, underwent open-heart surgery at St. Luke’s Hospital in Chesterfield, Mo. During the surgery he was given Trasylol (also known as aprotinin), a clotting drug used to prevent bleeding. Shortly after the surgery, Nakis experienced kidney failure and underwent dialysis. He died a short time later.
The suit alleges that Bayer failed to warn prescribers and consumers of the dangers associated with the drug, defectively designed the drug, fraudulently concealed the dangers of the drug, breached the implied and express warranties and violated the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act. The suit seeks compensatory damages and damages for aggravating circumstances.
