more on the litigious nature of latex. here's a few paragraphs and the url to a lengthy article that appeared in this weekend's washington post. fair warning: while it doesn't explicitly cite sfsk, given the company's low-allergen powder-free dominance and the way the medical industry is migrating towards pf gloves (viz. sfsk's goal to tap the international, particularly, european market), i think we're very well positioned to weather this squall.
Allergies Lead to Wave of Lawsuits Against Latex Glove Makers
By Avram Goldstein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, May 9, 1998; Page A12
Buoyed by a $1 million jury award to a Milwaukee hospital technician who developed a severe allergy to natural rubber latex gloves, hundreds of U.S. health care workers are suing glove manufacturers, alleging they knew prolonged exposure could cause reactions from mild skin irritations to deadly ailments.
In the last year, a steady stream of new claims against latex glove manufacturers has been filed in federal court in Philadelphia, where about 150 cases from across the country have been consolidated for pretrial purposes. About 50 more plaintiffs are suing in other courts, raising the specter of millions of dollars' worth of judgments against manufacturers.
The Food and Drug Administration is considering a ban on certain latex gloves that are more apt to cause allergies in users. The agency also will require manufacturers to place allergy warnings on packages of gloves and prohibit them from describing gloves as "hypoallergenic."
washingtonpost.com |
