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Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is caused by a virus, Hepatitis B virus (HBV). HBV attacks the liver and can cause chronic infection, cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver, liver cancer, and liver failure. Hepatitis B can be fatal.

Hepatitis B: Defective Medical Products and Procedures
Due to the alleged actions of manufacturers and distributors of medical products, including human tissue, thousands of people have been put at risk for contracting hepatitis B.  In March of 2006, the FDA notified medical professionals that Biomedical Tissue Services (BTS) of Fort Lee, New Jersey, illegally harvesting human tissue, bones and tendons.  On June 19, 2006, the FDA issued a health notification regarding reusable ultrasound transducer assemblies used for various biopsy procedures.  The biopsy procedures were performed by Veteran's Administration medical professionals and other doctors throughout the United States.  On August 31, 2006, the FDA notified medical professionals that Donor Referral Services may have illegally harvested human tissue.  Patients who have had tissue implants from illegally harvested human tissue or who had a biopsy with a reusable transducer assemble are at risk for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV-1, and HIV-2.

Even if an affected patient has no symptoms, that person may have hepaitis B. Patients who test positive for hepatitis B should contact a lawyer with hepatitis lawsuit experience.  One of the legal issues that an attorney will need to discuss with a hepatitis-infected patient is causation.

Causation: Proving What Caused Hepatitis B
Causation is one of the main legal hurdles in a case claiming Hepatitis B infection from a human tissue implantation orbiopsy procedure. The plaintiff (the victim) has to be able to prove that the tissue implant or biopsy procedure caused the Hepatitis B.

1. Hepatitis B can be transmitted by infected human tissue. The risk of transmission of Hepatitis B during human tissue implantation prompted the promulgation of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations section 1270.21.  This regulation specifically requires human tissue donors to be screened for Hepatitis B (and also Hepatitis C and HIV) and donor specimens to be tested for the same.

2. Hepatitis B can be transmitted by a biopsy-procedure device that was not cleaned properly.  In the case of the defective biopsy procedure devices used by the Veteran's Administration and others, the manufacturer's instructions were allegedly not clear about how to adequately clean and sterilize the "reuseable" device.  If virus-carrying blood was not washed off of the device before reuse, a patient would be exposed to hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV-AIDS.  

3. Transmission of Hepatitis B is generally associated with the following high-risk groups:

  • Persons with multiple sex partners or partners with a diagnosis of a sexually transmitted disease
  • Men who have sex with men
  • Sex contacts of infected persons
  • Injection drug users
  • Household contacts of chronically infected persons

If you are in a high-risk group, proving causation may be more difficult; however, you should consult a lawyer at Pritzker | Ruohonen and not assume you do not have a good case.

4.  Proving causation requires the use of expert witnesses.  Hepatitis lawsuits are complex both legally and due to the scientific nature of the evidence. The expert witnesses will need to provide solid, persuasive testimony on a number of issues. It will be important for your BTS tissue implant case to find an attorney with extensive experience using expert witnesses in the medical and scientific fields. At Pritzker | Ruohonen we focus on complex product liability cases that use expert witnesses. Our experience with hepatitis lawsuits has included finding the right expert witnesses and using their testimony effectively.

Hepatitis B: Lawyer and Free Consultation
If you have tested positive for Hepatitis B (and/or Hepatitis C, HIV or syphilis) after having a biopcy procedure, receiving a BTS tissue implant or receiving a Donor Referral Services human tissue implant, a lawyer at Pritzker | Ruohonen, a nationally-recognized law firm, is available for a free consultation.  You may reach us toll-free at 1-888-377-8900, info@pritzkerlaw.com or our online, free-consultation form. Senior partner Fred Pritzker has over 29 years of experience and has extensive experience with hepatitis lawsuits.  He has written online information on defective medical product lawsuits

Resources:
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
The Hepatitis B Foundation 
The Mayo Clinic


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Firm News

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