Legal News

Plaintiffs? Lawyers, Here?s Your New Asbestos: Denture Cream!

By Ashby Jones

Back in April, we did a post on a spate of drywall suits (click here). Here, we’re going to reprise the introduction to that item.

Is this the new tobacco? Is this the new asbestos? They're questions that get bandied about anytime a new category of potentially huge personal injury lawsuits appears on the horizon. Over the years, we've seen enough of these claims turn out to be largely empty hyperbole to take the question all that seriously anymore (manganese welding rods, anyone?). Still, the teensiest part of us wonders every time a new type of claim blossoms forth all at once. And now we're wondering: Could it be Chinese Drywall?

And now we’re wondering, could it be denture cream? We’re prompted to ask the question today by this NLJ article, which opens: “Plaintiffs’ law firms are sinking their teeth into products liability lawsuits alleging that denture cream products cause zinc buildup in the body and neurological problems.”

Scott William Weinstein of Morgan & Morgan in Ft. Myers, Fla., told the NLJ that long-term use of denture cream leads to zinc buildup and neurological problems because it binds to copper and removes too much of it from the body. Weinstein said his firm has begun to screen more than 3,000 potential cases. Meanwhile, a dozen cases are pending in federal courts in a variety of states.

Other plaintiffs’ lawyers are looking for denture cream cases, including Jim Sokolove, chairman of Newton, Mass.-based Sokolove Law. Last month, Sokolove posted a YouTube video on the dangers of denture cream use.

The cases target PolyGrip denture adhesive maker GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Procter & Gamble Co., which manufactures Fixodent, and the companies’ subsidiaries.

In a statement, Procter & Gamble said that all Fixodent products undergo rigorous scientific evaluations and safety testing and are “generally recognized as safe in the amounts used.” GlaxoSmithKline and did not return the NLJ’s calls for comment.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on June 05, 2009 (boomark / email).