Texas Man One of the First to File a Poligrip Lawsuit
Texas Man One of the First to File a Poligrip Lawsuit
Ever since a groundbreaking study by University of Texas researchers established a connection between the zinc in denture creams and neurological damage, more and more people have filed Fixodent and Poligrip lawsuitsagainst respective manufacturers Procter & Gamble and GlaxoSmithKline. Even before the UT study was published, however, one denture cream user filed suit against GSK, alleging that the zinc in Poligrip had caused his neurologic disorder.
By 2006, JD Jackson was having difficulty walking and experiencing numbness and hypersensitivity in his feet.
"[I] felt like an electric current going down my back, [and] then it started working down my leg. It's like my legs right now are topically numb," Jackson told WFFA-TV.
Jackson was diagnosed with neuropathy, which occurs when the peripheral nerves are damaged. But Dr. Vikas Bhushan, a leukemia specialist at the University of Texas Southwestern, was initially unable to diagnose the source of Jackson's condition. Only after an extensive investigation did he identify the culprit.
"It was literally zinc poisoning," said Bhushan.
After learning that Jackson had used the denture cream Poligrip (which contained zinc) daily for eight years, it was strongly suspected that Jackson's neuropathy had been caused by something in the adhesive. But because Poligrip is a Class I medical device, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did not require its ingredients to be listed on the label.
"Even toothpaste has a poison control number. This stuff [has] nothing whatsoever, no warnings, no ingredients, nothing," said Jackson, who ended up filing a lawsuit against GlaxoSmithKline.
His complaint against the British pharmaceutical giant echoed these words, accusing the company of failing to warn the public about the health risks posed by the zinc in Poligrip. And after UT researchers published a report entitled "Denture Cream: An unusual source of excess zinc, leading to hypocupremia and neurologic disease" in 2008, other plaintiffs have joined Jackson in seeking compensation from GSK and Procter & Gamble, the manufacturer of Fixodent.
Glaxo has made efforts to protect consumer health by removing the zinc from many of its Poligrip products (P&G still makes Fixodent with zinc), but this was only done after the UT findings were published. And although both companies were technically in compliance with FDA regulations, there are laws that protect consumers against dangerous products. Generally, manufacturers must make efforts to ensure that their products do not cause harm. Specifically, plaintiffs in denture cream lawsuits argue that GSK and P&G failed to obey the "failure to warn" aspect of product liability law, which provides that potentially dangerous products must include adequate warnings of their risks.
GSK appears to have reached Poligrip lawsuit settlements last year in some of the cases against it, though the terms of the settlements were not disclosed. But the future of Fixodent and Poligrip lawsuits is still very much up in the air, with a bellwether trial scheduled to begin in June. As soon as news on this and other denture cream news breaks, the Rottenstein Law Group will provide updates. Until then, If you believe you or a family member suffered neurological damage caused by Fixodent or Poligrip, contact RLG for a free case evaluation. For more than 25 years, the lawyers of RLG have been helping injured consumers hold blameworthy corporations liable.
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