Meningitis Outbreak

Attorney Blair Durham Attended Hearings In Washington, D.C., On National Meningitis Outbreak To Demand Accountability And Justice For A Mother And Other Victims

Nashville, Tennessee — Blair Durham of Bart Durham Injury Law and Mark Chalos of the national plaintiffs’ law firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, announced that Nashville, Tennessee, resident Melanie Norwood, the daughter of Marjorie Norwood, traveled to Washington, D.C., and yesterday attended the hearing by the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on the national meningitis outbreak.

Ms. Melanie Norwood’s mother, Marjorie, also a resident of Middle Tennessee, received two epidural steroid injections at the St. Thomas Outpatient Neurosurgery Clinic in Nashville, Tennessee, from apparently contaminated medication manufactured by the New England Compounding Center (NECC). Marjorie Norwood developed fungal meningitis and has been hospitalized for six weeks, receiving painful anti-fungal medication and treatments. At the Congressional hearing, Barry Cadden, owner of NECC, refused to answer questions about unsterile conditions at his plant and its liability for the 32 meningitis-related deaths across America, including 13 in Tennessee.

“My mom is suffering terribly and she faces a long, painful and uncertain road,” said Melanie Norwood. “I traveled to Washington to meet with members of Congress and to be a voice for the families who are struggling through this ordeal,” continued Ms. Norwood. “My goal is to work to hold the wrongdoers accountable and to help make sure this type of catastrophe never happens again,” Ms. Norwood stated.

Blair Durham, counsel for Ms. Norwood, also attended the hearing, and commented, “The Congressional hearing highlighted the lack of oversight by the Food and Drug Administration of large-scale pharmaceutical drug compounders such as NECC. Congress must promptly close this loophole in our nation’s drug safety regulations.”

“Some members of the health care profession failed our community and they must be held accountable,” Mr. Chalos, who is serving as co-counsel for the Norwood family, stated. “Our civil justice system allows the injured to exercise their constitutional right to bring a lawsuit against wrongdoers and obtain just and fair compensation for the harm wrongdoers caused.”

Persons who received contaminated medication from the NECC can learn more about their legal rights by calling Bart Durham Injury Law at 615-242-9000.

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