Week Adjourned: 3.25.16 – Old Spice, Tyson Foods, Dialysis Drug

Old Spice logoTop Class Action Lawsuits 

Heads up all Old Spice guys… And gals, too. Proctor & Gamble (P&G) got hit with a consumer fraud class action lawsuit alleging its Old Spice deodorant “ regularly and routinely causes rashes, irritation, burning and other injury to unsuspecting consumers.” How attrractive.

Filed by Rodney Colley on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, the Old Spice lawsuit contains a photo of Colley’s armpit areas, alleging that the severe rash depicted in the images was caused by Old Spice deodorant.

Further, the lawsuit alleges numerous complaints have been registered against the product online, citing adverse reactions to the Old Spice deodorant and no adequate warnings or safety notices on the products.

The lawsuit names the following Old Spice brands:

Old Spice After Hours Deodorant, Old Spice Champion Deodorant, Old Spice Pure Sport High Endurance Deodorant, Old Spice Artic Force High Endurance Deodorant, Old Spice Bearglove Deodorant, Old Spice Lion Pride Deodorant, Old Spice Swagger Deodorant, Old Spice Fresh High Endurance Deodorant, Old Spice Aqua Reef Deodorant, Old Spice Classic Fresh Deodorant, Old Spice Fiji Deodorant, Old Spice Wolfhorn Deodorant, Old Spice Champion Deodorant. 

Top Settlements

Big news on the Employment Lawsuit front this week… Tyson Foods lost its challenge to a $5.8 million class action judgment in an unpaid overtime and wages class action brought by Tyson workers at an Iowa pork-processing facility. The U.S. Supreme Court in a 6-2 ruling written by conservative Justice Anthony Kennedy, upheld a 2014 appeals court decision in favor of the Tyson workers.

The court has been considering an objection to the use of statistics to determine liability and damages claimed by the workers.

The Tyson lawsuit was filed by workers in at the meat-processing facility in 2007. The plant employs around 1,300 people. The plaintiffs claim they were entitled to overtime pay and damages because they were not paid for time spent donning and donning off protective equipment and walking to work stations. More than 3,000 current and former employees are suing Tyson.

The case is Tyson Foods Inc v. Bouaphakeo, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 14-1146.

Fresenius Dialysis agreement… Here’s another biggie in the defective medical products arena. Fresenius Medical Care reached a $250 million agreement potentially settling claims alleging harm from their dialysis drugs, GranuFlo and NaturaLyte. The settlement amount will be $250 million, but they need 97% of the plaintiffs to buy in by July of 2016 or the deal dies. If everyone’s onboard, funding will be provided in August of 2016.

The lawsuits, combined into a multi-district litigation (MDL), centers upon Fresenius’ two dialysates Granuflo and Naturalyte, which have been blamed for heart problems, strokes and death in thousands of patients. Reportedly, there are more than 1,800 lawsuits consolidated into MDL under US District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock in the District of Massachusetts (In re: Fresenius GranuFlo/NaturaLyte Dialysate Litigation, MDL No. 2428).

The lawsuits allege that Fresenius Medical Care knew of the danger in their products and failed to adequately warn and inform the public. Further, there are allegations that claim the company neglected to warn health care providers as well as properly train them on how to use these dialysis products safely.

Additionally, the lawsuits claim Fresenius failed to warn dialysis clinics, outside its own Fresenius clinics, of potential Alkali Dosing Errors.

Both Fresenius Medical Care products—Naturalyte and GranuFlo—are used in the treatment of acute and chronic renal failure during hemodialysis. The concentrate is formulated to be used with a three-stream hemodialysis machine, which is calibrated for acid and bicarbonate concentrates, according to the FDA safety recall initiated in March 2012. The recalled Naturalyte Liquid Acid Concentrate and Naturalyte GranuFlo (powder) Acid Concentrate was manufactured and distributed from January 2008 through June 2012.

Claims against Fresenius Medical Care include patients who have suffered injury or death as a result of using GranuFlo and/or NaturaLyte products during hemodialysis. 

Ok, that’s a wrap folks…Happy Easter and all the jazz!