Victims in Tennessee of a deadly U.S. meningitis outbreak won the right to pursue a new avenue of litigation against healthcare facilities and doctors there, after a ruling by a U.S. bankruptcy judge last week, Reuters reported on Friday. Tennessee was the second hardest-hit state, behind Michigan, in a meningitis outbreak that has injured or killed more than 700 people nationwide. There were about 65 healthcare facilities and doctors in Tennessee on the customer list of New England Compounding Center, which U.S. authorities said made and shipped the fungus-tainted steroid cited in the deadly outbreak. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Henry J. Boroff on Wednesday declared NECC insolvent, clearing the way for meningitis victims from Tennessee to file product-liability claims against medical providers, health clinics and other sellers of the tainted product.
