Source: Children’s Health Defense

The family of a Georgia woman who died from brain cancer is suing Merck, alleging the pharmaceutical giant’s former manufacturing facility in Albany exposed the woman’s mother, who was pregnant while employed at the facility, to dangerous, cancer-causing chemicals that led to her daughter’s death.

In a complaint filed earlier this month in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, Albany Division, the family alleges that Merck’s Flint River Plant released “a toxic soup of chemicals and substances known to be dangerous and carcinogenic to humans, especially pregnant women and their unborn children.”

According to court documents, Colleen Sullivan worked at the Albany plant from 1993 to 2005. During that time, the lawsuit alleges, she was continuously exposed to dangerous levels of toxic chemicals, including benzene, toluene, formaldehyde, methanol, cyanide and dichloromethane (DCM).

Several of these chemicals are linked to birth defects or cancer, and many of them can cross the blood-brain and placental barrier.

Sullivan gave birth to two daughters — Saville in 1997 and Lilia in 1999 — while employed at the plant. The lawsuit asserts that both girls were exposed in utero to hazardous substances, increasing their risk of developing childhood cancers.

In 2016, both sisters were diagnosed with rare forms of pediatric brain cancer just three weeks apart. Lilia underwent surgery and radiation therapy. Saville’s Stage 4 cancer required extensive treatment, including chemotherapy and physical rehabilitation.

After years of remission, Saville’s cancer returned in early 2023. Despite aggressive treatment, she died on Oct. 10, 2023, at age 26.

Her husband, Chandler Larkin, and her mother are seeking compensatory damages for their suffering and punitive damages “in an amount expressed in monetary terms sufficient to penalize, punish, and deter Merck from engaging in similar conduct in the future.”

The legal team representing Saville’s family — Adam Malone of Malone Law and Parker Miller and Matt Griffith of Beasley Allen Law Firm — told The Defender in a statement that the case has implications for workplace safety more generally.

They said:

“As this case demonstrates, the consequences of workplace safety cannot be ignored, especially for pregnant mothers and their developing unborn children. Colleen Sullivan never knew when she was pregnant with her beautiful daughters that she was working in an environment that was potentially hazardous to her and her unborn children.

“We are honored to represent this precious family so they can achieve justice.”

Merck’s Albany plant, opened in 1952, manufactured Zocor and Prilosec before it was closed in 2007. It was demolished in 2011.

Merck ‘knew, or should have known’

The complaint accuses Merck of failing to warn employees about toxic exposure risks and failing to provide protective equipment or adequate ventilation at the Flint River Plant.

The family alleges Merck “knew, or should have known,” that exposure to these chemicals posed serious risks, particularly to pregnant workers and their unborn children, yet the company did nothing to limit or prevent exposure.

As part of the manufacturing process, Merck released chemicals and production byproducts that it knew were “chemicals of concern” into the air, surrounding soils and water sources through routine operations, maintenance, spills and waste disposal over the entire operational lifetime of the plant.

Merck closed the plant as part of its global restructuring plan after the company was forced to pull its drug Vioxx from the market in 2004. The painkiller was discontinued after it was found to cause heart attacks and strokes — which Merck was aware of while still marketing the drug.

After the plant closed, both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources reportedly found contamination from toluene, DCM and other chemicals in the surrounding soil and groundwater during site assessments.

Colleen Sullivan was employed at the plant in various human resources roles and regularly visited areas throughout the plant. Her employer never warned her about exposure to toxic substances or directed her to wear personal protective equipment, according to the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs claim that Merck’s inaction directly caused Saville’s cancer and death.

“Had Merck taken reasonable measures to provide a safe work environment, Saville Sullivan would be alive today,” the complaint states.

Lawsuit ‘challenges how corporations manage toxic chemicals’

The lawsuit brings multiple counts against Merck, including negligence, premises liability, gross negligence and wrongful death. It seeks compensatory and punitive damages for pain and suffering, medical and funeral expenses, loss of income, and the “full value of Saville Sullivan’s life.”

Griffith told WALB news:

“They just want what is right. And part of what is right is fixing the wrong that we allege Merck created. Colleen had no idea when she was working there and when she was pregnant and gave birth to her two beautiful daughters. That she had no idea she was being exposed and exposing her two children just by going into work every day.”

The lawsuit asserts that Merck’s negligence during the plant’s operation continues to cause health consequences for former employees and their families. Miller said the legal team investigated the plant for a year.

“There is no telling what else we are going to find. There is always something else. And there is also going to be a question of what happens when these types of chemicals percolate throughout a workplace,” he said.

The lawsuit is “more than a legal dispute — it’s a wake-up call,” the attorneys said on their website.

They added:

“It challenges how corporations manage toxic chemicals, how they protect their workers, and how they respond when lives are put at risk. For families living near industrial plants, and for employees who trust their workplaces to be safe, this case is a stark reminder of the invisible dangers that can lead to lifelong consequences.”

The plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial.

Merck has not filed a response to the complaint. The drugmaker did not respond to The Defender’s request for comment.

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