First NJ Meningitis Patient Files Lawsuit

A New Jersey woman treated for fungal meningitis linked to contaminated steroid injections is filing a lawsuit.

A New Jersey woman treated for fungal meningitis linked to contaminated steroid injections is filing a lawsuit.

Andre Gould, 55, of Millville, claims her condition was caused by the negligence of the New England Compounding Center (NECC), the center that prepared the injection. Gould’s lawsuit is the first in New Jersey from a patient treated for fungal meningitis stemming from a nationwide outbreak that has now claimed 31 lives.

Gould’s complaint claims the NECC pharmacy failed to follow standard safety practices for a state-licensed compounding pharmacy when they produced the drug. Gould also claims she received one of her injections at the South Jersey Medical Center on September 27, one day after the Federal government recalled the steroids.

“Mrs. Gould, who also suffers from debilitating kidney disease, experiences constant headaches, chills and continuing intense back pain associated with the tainted steroid injections,” said attorney Michael F. Barrett with Philly firm Saltz, Mongeluzzi, Barrett and Bendesky. “On October 18, 2012, she tested positive and her physicians immediately admitted her to the hospital, where she received antifungal medications.” Barrett's firm is representing more than 20 folks from New Jersey who have received injections from the tainted lots.

The NECC is now under a federal criminal investigation and the Board of Pharmacy has permanently revoked its operating license in Massachusetts.

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