If you have sustained kidney damage after using Fleet Phospho-soda or Fleet Phospho Soda EZ-Prep, you likely want to know your legal options and find out if a Fleet Class Action lawsuit has been filed.
Fleet Products
Fleet Phospho-soda and Fleet Phospho-soda EZ-Prep Bowel Cleansing System are bowel cleansing drugs used to prepare a patient for a colonoscopy. These products were sold over-the-counter in the United States. Unfortunately, they caused severe kidney damage in some patients.
Colonoscopy Procedure and Preparation
A colonoscopy is a medical procedure used to inspect the large intestine of the body for colon cancer and pre-cancerous polyps. Doctors will prescribe a colonoscopy for patients they feel are at-risk. Prior to a colonoscopy, you doctor will have you take a bowel cleansing solution that clears the bowel. Fleet Phospho-soda and Fleet Phospho-soda EZ-Prep Bowel Cleansing System were such products. Bowel cleansing is necessary because during a colonoscopy, the doctor inserts a camera to take pictures of the inside of the colon, which the doctor can view on a monitor during the exam. This camera cannot take accurate pictures if the bowel is not clear. The colonoscope can also collect samples for biopsies, remove polyps or cauterize areas to stop bleeding.
Medical Problems and FDA Warnings
Some people who took a Fleet product suffered a severe injury to their kidneys within days or weeks following the bowel cleansing. In 2008, the FDA warned about Fleet kidney after several people suffered from kidney problems called acute phosphate nephropathy (renal failure). In cases of acute phosphate nephropathy, calcium phosphate crystals deposit in the renal tubules causing kidney failure, which can be permanent. Because of the risk of kidney failure, the FDA decided that the Fleet laxative products should not be used.
Fleet Recall
In December 2008, CB Fleet Company, Inc. recalled their over-the-counter drugs, Fleet Phospho-soda and Fleet Phospho-soda EZ-Prep Bowel Cleansing System, after several people suffered from kidney failure. The Fleet recall came after the FDA warnings. The FDA has not filed a Fleet class action lawsuit, however. Pursuing a Fleet class action lawsuit is up to the consumers who have been harmed by a Fleet product.
Fleet Class Action Lawsuit Lawyers
If you or a loved one has suffered kidney damage after using Fleet, Visicol or Osmoprep bowel prep products you may have the right to file a claim. There are important statute of deadlines that patients must be aware of or they may lose the right to be compensated.
Author Resource:
John Davidson is the author of this article on Fleet Recall .
Find more information about Fleet lawsuit here.