Contaminated Triad Alcohol Wipes, Swabs and Other Products
Posted by John Sedgewick - 15/05/11 at 09:05 pm
Contaminated alcohol wipes produced and sold by the Triad Group have been linked to severe infection and death across the country. Although the problem may have been known to Triad and to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration since July of 2009, no public announcement was made before the tainted wipes allegedly caused the death of a 2-year old boy from Texas. The company has since issued a recall of its alcohol-based products, citing the potential for microbial infection for people who use them. The parents of the 2-year-old Texas toddler have sued Triad in connection with their child’s death.
The FDA chose not issue warnings about the defective products in the early stages of its investigation, and now says that it chose to “work closely” with Triad to “voluntarily” improve the quality of the wipes, and that it had hoped that the need for “corrective actions would be addressed” voluntarily and promptly by the firm.
By the time Triad issued its recall, the child in Texas had suffered complications of infection and passed away and numerous other people were infected by the same deadly bacteria, Bacillus cereus. Infection is a serious problem in many U. S. hospitals, and can be very expensive to treat. It is particularly dangerous to people who are weakened by underlying illness. Even after intense in-patient care it may be necessary for people battling infection to take IV anti-biotics for 24 hours day at home for weeks following release from the hospital.
The contaminated products sold by Triad may be in the form of individually packaged alcohol prep pads, alcohol swabs and alcohol swabsticks. Lubricating jelly sold by Triad has also been recalled. In Maine, Triad alcohol pads packaged inside sealed self-injection kits sold by national drug store chains are suspected of causing severe infection and extended hospital stays. The self-injection kits include prescription medications, and are assembled and labelled by companies other than Triad. The kits include the Triad swabs for the consumer to use for cleaning the injection site before the injection of the prescription medication.
In November of 2010, a Colorado hospital reportedly told the FDA of having detected a life-threatening bacterium inTriad sanitizing wipes. After that report, an FDA inspection team may have finally realized that the earlier complaints had not been addressed. Further inspection revealed that Triad’s contaminated products had been widely distributed.
Although retail stores stopped selling the Triad products soon after the recent recall, it took longer to stop the sale of the tainted products over the internet and longer to stop people from using previously-purchased stocks of the products that were in their homes.
If you are or have been suffering with endomyocarditis or other serious complications of infection, consult with your doctor immediately about whether a contaminated Triad product may be the source of your infection. If you need the help of an experienced product liability attorney in assessing your situation, call Berman and Simmons 1 800 244 3576. We have been recognized by U.S. News and World Report as Maine’s best law firm for helping people injufed by defective products.
