Patients who took Trasylol (Bayer’s controversial drug used to limit bleeding in heart surgery), or their loved ones, should beware of statute of limitations issues is they plan to file a lawsuit against the company. In a recent interview, Alabama attorney Frank Woodson explained why this issue is so important.

Statute of limitations

Each state sets its own statute of limitations for filing lawsuits. These statutes limit the right of a plaintiff to file an action unless it is done within a specified time period. It can be a complicated area of the law, so patients who took Trasylol may want to contact an attorney to make certain that they don’t lose their window of opportunity to file a lawsuit. Woodson explained:

At this point, we don’t know what Bayer is going to do. It’s in a patient’s best interest to contact an attorney now because the statute of limitations is going to be running. They’ll generally have two years from the date of death to file, regardless of whether they knew the cause of death.

If you had a kidney failure as a result of it, you might be able to file your case in a discovery state if you can’t file it in your own state because two years have elapsed – if that’s what the statute provides. Many people are just now finding out from the 60 Minutes piece that Trasylol may have been the cause of their kidney failure. It’s always better to go get an evaluation from an attorney sooner rather than later.

First steps

One of the first steps in the process is ordering the medical records. Woodson told us that his firm does this for clients on a regular process. “We can order medical records for patients to determine if they were given Trasylol as long as we get a medical authorization. If they were not given Trasylol, that’s the end of the investigation. If they were given Trasylol and they had kidney failure, then we order all the medical records. We would pay for the medical records as well. We work on a contingency fee basis, so we would pay for those costs. Even if it is determined that they weren’t given Trasylol, we would simply just close the file and absorb those expenses.”

If you or a loved one may have been injured or died due to the use of Trasylol, contact an attorney whose practice focuses in this area of law to discuss your situation. The consultation is free and without obligation. To contact a qualified attorney, please click here.