Veteran Files Lawsuit Due to Tainted Shots

 Posted on September 22, 2013 in Defective Drugs & Treatments

A nasty fungal meningitis outbreak in Tennessee has left several families and patients reeling with new injuries sustained after a tainted steroid shot was administered in several facilities across the state, according to The Tennessean. One of the recent lawsuits to be filed due to this incident was filed on behalf of Major Adam Ziegler, 33. Major Ziegler is a veteran of wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan. His 49-page complaint, according to The Tennessean, states that the continued nerve damage in his feet and legs, incurred by the tainted steroid, has "negatively impacted his military career."

Yet Major Ziegler is luckier than some of his counterparts. One lawsuit was filed "for the family of retired Nashville school librarian Earline Williams, one of the early victims to die in the nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak." The outbreak first rocked medical facilities across the country in October of last year, and according to The Tennessean, the recent "flurry of lawsuits comes as a one-year deadline is approaching to assert claims under Tennessee's health care and product liability laws."

While Tennessee may have had one of the highest numbers of fungal meningitis outbreaks due to this steroid (with 153, the state is second only to Michigan with 264), Illinois has been affected as well. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), there have been at least two documented cases of fungal meningitis outbreak in the state due to these tainted shots. More than 75 medical facilities across the country, a high concentration of them along the Eastern Corridor, received shipments of the tainted shots. Since last October, according to the CDC, there have been 750 cases nationwide of fungal meningitis due to the tainted steroid shots, resulting in 64 deaths.

If you or someone you know has been affected by a tainted shot, you may be eligible for compensation. Filing a lawsuit can help in damages sustained from a defective medical product, for the family, even, if the patient met an untimely demise. Don't go through it alone. Contact a dedicated Chicago-area defective medical device attorney today.