Woman Files Lawsuit against Enema Manufacturer after Kidney Failure

By Richard Seward

Published on May 18, 2007

In a lawsuit filed May 15 in Lynchburg Circuit Court, Lora Joyce Goza claims that C.B. Fleet Co. was aware of the potential danger posed by the combination of its Fleet Phospho-Soda Bowel Prep solution with various other medications, including those prescribed for hypertension. In the lawsuit, Goza accuses Fleet of negligence for failing to provide a warning to consumers or the medical community of the product’s possible risks.

Goza’s attorney claims the company has known of the risks associated with its product for 12 years. Additionally, he believes that although there have been hundreds of reports of patients injured by the product, Goza’s suit may represent the first Virginia product liability lawsuit brought against a major producer of health, medical, and pharmaceutical products.

The lawsuit states that Goza visited a Texas hospital in May 2005 to undergo a routine colonoscopy. In order to ensure an accurate examination of the intestines, the bowel prep solution was given to cleanse the bowels. However, Goza claims, the solution combined with her blood pressure medication to cause permanent kidney damage that resulted in kidney failure.

Fleet’s product is administered to millions of individuals each year. An article published in 2005 in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, however, said the product was an often-overlooked cause of chronic kidney failure.

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