New York, NY (PRWEB) November 27, 2012

A federal judge overseeing fungal meningitis lawsuits in the U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, has agreed to freeze some assets belonging to the New England Compounding Center (NECC), Bernstein Liebhard LLP reports. According to the Tennessean, U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor on Friday issued an attachment of up to $ 5 million against the assets of the Framingham, Massachusetts, company. However, Judge Saylor rejected plaintiffs request to freeze $ 461 million in assets belonging to NECCs owners, including two other companies and their personal residences. (Cole v. New England Compounding Pharmacy, 12-12066, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts)*

Epidural steroid injections supplied by NECC have been implicated in a multistate outbreak of fungal meningitis and other infections that has so far claimed 36 lives. According to an update posted on the U.S. Centers for Disease Controls website yesterday, 510 infections, including 478 cases of meningitis and 14 peripheral joint infections, have been reported in people who received NECC steroid injections to treat back and joint pain.

Now that the number of illnesses tied to NECC steroids has passed the 500 mark, its fair to say the litigation involving the company could be fairly large. Judge Saylors decision to freeze some NECC assets will help protect plaintiffs interests, says Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationwide law firm that represents people injured by defective drugs and medical devices. The firm is currently offering free fungal meningitis lawsuit evaluations to anyone affected by this outbreak.

Fungal Meningitis Lawsuits

In September, Massachusetts-based NECC announced an epidural steroid recall for 17,000 vials of preservative-free methylprednilosone injections. In October, the company voluntarily surrendered its license and recalled all of its products. According to the Tennessean, NECC has since been named in some 50 meningitis lawsuits filed on behalf of people allegedly sickened by the companys epidural steroid injections. Last month, plaintiffs petitioned the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) for consolidation of all federally-filed claims in Minnesota federal court. NECC supports the proposed consolidation, but has requested Massachusetts federal court as the venue for the consolidated proceedings. (In Re: New England Compounding Pharmacy, Inc. Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2419 [JPML].)

Victims of the fungal meningitis outbreak linked to NECCs epidural steroid injections may be entitled to compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more. Learn more about filing a fungal meningitis lawsuit by visiting Bernstein Liebhard LLPs website http://www.consumerinjurylawyers.com/. For additional information, contact one of the firms fungal meningitis lawyers today at (877) 779-1414.

*tennessean.com/article/20121124/NEWS07/311240077/Judge-freezes-some-NECC-assets

**cdc.gov/HAI/outbreaks/meningitis.html

About Bernstein Liebhard LLP

Bernstein Liebhard LLP is a New York-based law firm exclusively representing injured persons in complex individual and class action lawsuits nationwide since 1993, including those who have been harmed by dangerous drugs, defective medical devices and consumer products. The firm has been named by The National Law Journal to the Plaintiffs Hot List, recognizing the top plaintiffs firms in the country, for the past 10 consecutive years.

Bernstein Liebhard LLP

10 East 40th Street

New York, New York 10016

(877) 779-1414

ATTORNEY ADVERTISING.