BOULDER, Colo., Aug. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement was
released by Laszlo & Associates, LLC:
Reports of renal failure and death following the use of Fleet(R)
Phospho- Soda(R) as a bowel cleanser go back to the 1990s -- within a few
years of when C.B. Fleet Co., Inc., the makers of the popular
over-the-counter oral laxative, first began promoting a double dose bowel
cleansing regimen. According to the lawsuits, over the years, as reports of
renal failure from bowel cleansing uses of Fleet(R) Phospho-Soda(R)
continued to rise, the manufacturer of Fleet(R) Phospho-Soda(R) continued
to assure healthcare professionals that studies supported the safety of the
double dosing regimen.
Dozens of sufferers of kidney failure and related injuries have filed
lawsuits against the C.B. Fleet Company. The lawsuits allege that these
individuals suffered acute renal failure and chronic kidney disease after
using Fleet(R) Phospho-Soda(R) as a bowel cleanser prior to colonoscopies
and surgical procedures. The plaintiffs in these cases, residents of more
than twenty different states across the country, are represented by: Lynch
Daskal Emery LLP; Laszlo & Associates, LLC; Foley & Mansfield, PLLP; Cooley
Manion Jones LLP; The Law Offices of Jeffrey L. Shaw; and Kalbian Hagerty,
LLP. Contact Information for all of these firms is available at
http://www.kidneyattorneys.com.
A single daily dose of Fleet(R) Phospho-soda(R) (20-45mL) has been used
for decades as a laxative to relieve occasional constipation. In the early
1990s, as the number of colonoscopies began to rise, the makers of Fleet(R)
Phospho-soda(R) started promoting the use of two doses (totaling 90 mL) of
Fleet(R) Phospho-soda(R) separated by only 10-12 hours, and as little as 5
hours, as a safe and effective "low-volume" alternative to traditional
bowel cleansers. While the FDA has stated that approximately one dose
(20-45mL) of Fleet(R) Phospho-soda(R) is generally recognized as safe and
effective, it has not approved the double dosing bowel cleansing regimen
that Fleet is promoting. Indeed, the FDA has said on more than one occasion
that the data on which the makers of Fleet(R) Phospho-soda(R) rely is
insufficient to demonstrate the safety of two doses of Fleet(R)
Phospho-soda(R) separated by 10-12 hours.
In the wake of the growing number of lawsuits involving Fleet(R)
Phospho-Soda(R) and recent legislation that will likely require Fleet to
report all adverse events associated with use of its over-the-counter
Phospho-Soda(R) to the FDA, the company has quietly removed from its
packaging the "bowel cleanser" indication for the use of the product,
though it continues to promote a double dose regimen. Fleet denies that it
is at fault for the kidney failures and has been blaming
gastroenterologists and colo-rectal surgeons for the injuries.
SOURCE Laszlo & Associates, LLC
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