Corboy & Demetrio Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit against Abbott over Diabetic Test Strips
The Tennessee parents of a University of Chicago law student who allegedly died after using diabetic test strips that were recalled days after her death, are speaking out about a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Corboy & Demetrio against Abbott Laboratories and other manufacturers.
In their lawsuit, Ken and Leyanne Harper of Maryville, TN, allege that their daughter, Abbie, 23, used FreeStyle brand test strips and a FreeStyle blood glucose meter embedded in an Omnipod insulin pump made by Insulet, which “produced erroneously low blood glucose results” resulting in Abbie’s death on Nov. 14 , 2013.
Abbie Harper’s estate is being represented by Chicago attorneys Robert J. Bingle and Kenneth T. Lumb of Corboy & Demetrio, which filed the lawsuit in Cook Co. Circuit Court.
The lawsuit alleges that the FreeStyle brand test strips were “rendered defective by a strip manufacturing process error” and that the FreeStyle glucose meter embedded in Omnipod’s device was “not compatible with FreeStyle brand test strips.”
“We believe the evidence will show the very products Abbie used before her death gave her an erroneously low glucose level, which caused her death,” Bingle said.
“We also believe the evidence will show that the manufacturing error was the tip of the iceberg and that compatibility problems among the devices existed for quite some time before Abbie’s death,” Lumb said.
“Abbie trusted and relied upon her diabetic test strips and glucose monitor. They were her lifeline,” said Abbie’s father Ken Harper. “We hope this lawsuit makes the diabetic community more aware of the products that we believe failed Abbie, products she trusted to keep her alive.” To read the entire Harper Family Statement, go to corboydemetrio.com.
Case #2014L012929, Harper v. Abbott, Cook Co. Circuit Court