Zinc in Dental Adhesives Can Cause Injuries
Hundreds of people nationwide said they were poisoned by their denture cream. According to this article in the Philadelphia Daily News, lawsuits filed against GlaxoSmithKline, maker of Poligrip, and Procter & Gamble, manufacturers of Fixodent, allege that the companies knew their products were dangerous and did not protect consumers.
The suits allege that adding zinc to the products had adverse health effects on some users. Zinc helps bond dentures to gums.
Among the lawsuits is a woman who is now classified as a quadriplegic and others whose hands have deteriorated and look like claws.
According to the article, GSK launched a voluntary recall of Poligrip EX in Japan last week. However, the product was not recalled in the U.S.
A larger suit involving 75 plaintiffs is in federal court in Miami.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuits allege that they were unclear about how much product was safe to use until it was too late and their bodies had been damaged.
Late last year, GSK began including an insert in its denture packaging, noting that even the smallest size tube (0.75 oz). is meant to last about three weeks.
By the time the insert was released, many people’s bodies were already damaged.
The company did not recall products that contained zinc. The zinc-free products should be available by April or May, but the others are still being sold since they are safe when used as directed.
The recommended daily allowance of zinc is 11 mg for an adult male and 8 mg for an adult female, according to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. The maximum amount of zinc that can tolerated daily is 40 mg.
As a consumer, you have the right to assume that products you purchase or use have been produced in a manner that would ensure that they are safe and free from unreasonable risks. If a company manufactures or sells a product that is hazardous to the user, the company must be held liable for any injuries or fatalities that occurred due to the faulty product.
If you have a Pennsylvania defective product claim, you will require the representation of a Philadelphia products liability denture zinc poisoning attorney from Cherry, Fieger, and Marciano, LLP to handle all of the complexities involved with this type of case. There are many steps to a product liability case; beginning with proving that the product was in fact defective, next proving the product was the cause of the injury, and finally proving that the product was not used unreasonably. Please contact our firm today to discuss your case with an experienced legal professional.
