Washington Defective Drugs Lawyers - Fighting for Those Harmed by Heparin

When surgery is performed on a patient, one of the safeguards that needs to be taken by the surgeon and medical staff is to protect against blood clotting in and around the incision and the area of the body that's being repaired. In this setting, clotting can be a dangerous condition that puts the safety of the patient at risk.

As such, there are several medications and substances available that help to prevent blood clotting, and one of them is known as Heparin. Below you'll find information regarding how Heparin works, the problems it encountered, the government's reaction to these issues and how you should proceed if you or someone you love has suffered as a result of having Heparin used during surgery.

Heparin - Blood Clotting

Heparin was originally used as far back as 75 years ago, and over that time millions of surgeries have included the use of Heparin in order to prevent the clotting discussed above. For many years, Heparin was seen as a safe and reasonable alternative for surgeons, and very few reports of negative reactions to it were ever generated.

Heparin works by regulating/boosting the activity of one of the anticoagulant molecules that occurs naturally in the body. This molecule is known as antithrombin III (AT-III), and the medication simultaneously inactivates a substance known as thrombin, which is central in the clotting process.

This stops the formation of fibrin and so stops blood clots from forming. Heparin accomplishes this in the physiological sense by attaching to AT-III, which can increase its effectiveness by a factor of almost 2,000. Therefore, the threat of blood clotting is substantially reduced for most patients during surgery.

Herapin Side Effects and Herapin Injury

Normally, when problems with drugs and medications arise, they occur within a few years of the drug hitting the market. Therefore, the fact that serious and dangerous side effects began to surface with Heparin after so many years of use was quite confusing to many in the medical science industry.

When this occurs, many will assume that the problem is not with the molecular structure of the drug but rather with how it's delivered. Unfortunately, that's what turned out to be the case when reports of side effects in those who had taken a Heparin injection began to surface in large numbers in 2007.

After a preliminary investigation, it was discovered that the Baxter Healthcare Corporation, which was the manufacturer of Heparin, had outsourced the production of this medication to a laboratory in China. Given the location of the new laboratory, the FDA was never able to inspect the facility to make sure that it met domestic health standards.

Herapin Outsourced Lawsuit

As a result of this outsourcing, more than 300 people had suffered from severe side effects after a Heparin injection, and these side effects included:
  • Difficulty breathing
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Falling blood pressure
It was determined that these Herapin side effects were basically allergic reactions to contaminants found in Heparin, and worst of all was the fact that four people had died as a result of these unforeseen reactions.

FDA and Herapin Regulation

After these reports were generated and the outsourcing discovery was made, the government did not have many options regarding how it should proceed. The new laboratory was in China, and obviously the FDA does not have the jurisdiction to oversee and/or inspect a facility that does not sit within the borders of the United States.

In this situation, all that the government can do is regulate the products that are produced overseas and sold in the United States, and that's exactly what it did. The FDA ordered the Baxter Healthcare Corporation to halt the sales of Heparin until further investigations could be conducted and definitive conclusions could be drawn. In addition to the halting of sales, Baxter also recalled several lots of the drug that were potentially tainted with contaminants.

Herapin Injury Lawyer Lawsuit - Take Action

If you or someone you love has suffered as a result of a Heparin injection, you need to take steps to make sure that your rights are properly protected and enforced. Contact the defective drugs lawyers at Phillips Webster today to schedule a free initial consultation, as you need answers regarding your legal rights and options.
 



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