Lawsuit claims Metro Detroit man was given contaminated Covid medicine with glass shards

FOX 2 (WJBK) - A Metro Detroit man claims the COVID-19 medicine he took was contaminated with shards of glass.

"We know that there were glass particulates, little pieces of glass shards in the medicine that obviously shouldn't have been there," said attorney Ven Johnson.

Johnson says Remdesivir is to blame for Dan Nowacki's condition. He is wheelchair-bound – and now reliant on his wife for 24-hour care.

"My life has changed naturally," said Kathleen Nowacki, his wife. "I used to be so independent myself, now I have to take care of him."

His wife described how her life is different now – compared to when Dan was hospitalized back in November 2021.

He was taken to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Chelsea, and given Remdisivir by IV. A week later, he suffered a stroke, then another.

"What happened is, the drug that helped him to survive Covid, is the one that caused the stroke that has ruined his life.

The drug company Gilead Sciences Inc recalled two lots of Remdesivir containing 55,000 vials of the glass-ridden Remdesivir - warning of stroke and death.

At least two of the doses Dan Nowacki received were bad, Johnson says.

Dan Nowacki prior to Covid

"It took the hospital nearly five months after they knew, or should have known, that the Remdesivir was contaminated with glass particulates and never contacted our clients," the attorney said.

Gilead and the hospital are included in the lawsuit. Initially, Gilead claimed it had immunity, but a Michigan judge ruled they do not.

Before the strokes, the leg amputation, and all the complications, this 80-something-year-old was completely independent, fixed everything around the house – and had a lot of life to live, his wife said.

"They know they screwed up somewhere, that's why they took it off the market," Johnson said. "You would think that Gilead would step up and do the right thing. And come to this family and help this family as opposed to simply playing the lawsuit game."

Because that Michigan judge ruled that Gilead is not protected legally, that will set the tone for any future lawsuits brought against it.