Glucose monitors targeted in Madison County class action

Michael Miller of New Douglas and W.C. Cole of East St. Louis filed a class action lawsuit Feb. 1 in Madison County Circuit Court against the manufacturers of blood glucose monitors claiming a product defect poses a serious health risk.

Defendants Hypoguard USA of Chicago, Medisys USA of Minneapolis, Liberty Medical Supply of Plantation, Fla. and Fox Medical of Fort Pierce, Fla. are accused of breach of warranties, unjust enrichment, and consumer and common law fraud.

The plaintiffs claim the blood glucose monitors--manufactured by Hypoguard--are publicly advertised and promoted as an easy-to-use method for measuring blood glucose levels. But using the the defectively designed product poses a serious health risk and as such is incapable of fulfilling its advertised purpose, according to the suit.

It is alleged that the blood glucose monitors and strips give inaccurately high or low readings.

The defendants expressly represented and warranted that the glucose monitors and strips being sold to the general public were free of defects and fit for their intended purpose, the suit states.

Defendants allegedly breached their implied warranty by selling monitors and strips with a serious defect.

The plaintiffs claim that had they known the "true facts" they would not have purchased Hypoguard blood glucose monitor--or paid as much as they did for the product.

Miller and Cole claim the defendants knew the monitors were defective and would provide inaccurate readings immediately and they recklessly disregarded the potential ramifications of disclosing.

The plaintiffs are represented by Jeffery J. Lowe of St. Louis and are seeking an amount to be proven at trial, but in no instance exceed $50,000 per class member.

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