Blood-Thinner Heparin Cost Man His Toes, Lawsuit Says
An adverse reaction to the blood-thinning drug heparin cost a West Virginia man the use of his toes, according to a newly filed lawsuit against the makers of the medication.
James Bradley said he was prescribed heparin in 2007 and soon after he was injected with the blood thinner, he started to suffer severe injuries that resulted in the amputation of his toes, according to a report in the West Virginia Record.
Bradley’s suit, filed November 10 in Kanawha Circuit Court, claims Bradley has suffered severe mental and physical pain and suffering. The case accuses Baxter Healthcare Corp. and other companies of marketing a defective drug that was not safe for its intended purpose.
Bradley and his wife, Shirley, sued heparin’s makers seeking compensatory and punitive damages for product liability, defective design, failure to warn, consumer fraud, breach of express warranty, tort of malpractice, and loss of consortium.
Heparin Linked to Severe Infections
A potentially severe condition called heparin-induced thrombocytopenia has been reported in dozens of users of the blood thinner. In some cases, Heparin patients have been forced to undergo above-knee amputations after developing gangrene caused by the condition following the treatments.
In the past, heparin has been associated with severe allergic reactions linked to a counterfeit active ingredient and deadly overdoses caused by confusion between the full-strength drug and a diluted form, called Hep-Lock.
Heparin Recalled in 2008
Heparin was recalled in 2008 after it was discovered that a counterfeit active ingredient had been included in the drug by the Chinese manufacturing firm. The tainted Heparin was blamed for dozens of patient deaths and hundreds of injuries in patients who suffered severe reactions to the drug’s counterfeit active ingredient.
In one high-profile case of confusion between Heparin and HepLock, the newborn infant twins of Hollywood actor Dennis Quaid and his wife nearly died when they were accidentally given multiple doses of Heparin instead of HepLock while in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. It was later found that similar labeling on the two products and other slip ups by hospital staff caused the confusion.
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