Fourth Minnesotan with meningitis sues

A fourth Minnesotan who contracted meningitis after being treated with a tainted steroid has filed a lawsuit against the company that manufactured the drug.

Holly Peterson of Ham Lake was hospitalized for about a week, attorney Karl Carbonne said.

Peterson was diagnosed with meningitis last month and continues to receive anti-fungal injections, he said.

"[She] now is outpatient but will continue to receive her treatments now until perhaps the first of the year, and then a further prognosis will be made," Carbonne said.

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Carbonne said Peterson's case against the New England Compounding Center will likely be combined with other patients' lawsuits from several other states. He said attorneys in Michigan and Minnesota have requested that the combined case be heard in Minnesota, but attorneys won't know the venue until a federal panel makes a decision early next year.

Officials at the Minnesota Department of Health say they're now aware of 12 cases of fungal meningitis in Minnesota. More than 100 Minnesota clinics have received drugs from the Massachusetts company.

The fungal meningitis outbreak linked to the New England Compounding Center has affected people in 23 states.

Carlbonne said his client decided to file the lawsuit because she was concerned the company wouldn't be able to fairly compensate her for her suffering without one.

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