Seresto Flea and Tick Pet Collars Alleged to Cause Harm Florida Class Action

Flea and tick collars are supposedly designed to protect pets from harm. But the complaint for this class action brings suit against Bayer Healthcare, LLC and Elanco Animal Health, Inc. for their Seresto brand flea and tick collars. The complaint alleges that the Seresto collars have “the capacity to injure, maim, or even kill the pets that wear, or are exposed to, them.”

The Florida Class for this action is all persons in Florida who bought the Seresto products between the beginning of the statutory period and the present.

According to the complaint, the Seresto collars release small amounts of pesticides onto the pets while they wear them. But the complaint claims the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reports of harm, indicating that “since 2012, Seresto Collars have been responsible for over 75,000 reported inicidents—including the deaths of 1,698 pets and nearly 1,000 incidents involving humans.”

“Additionally, on March 17, 2021,” the complaint alleges, “Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy wrote directly to Defendant Elanco Animal Health, Inc. demanding that it voluntarily recall Seresto Collars from the market due to the serious risks associated with the Products.” But Elanco has not done so.

In fact, the complaint alleges, the companies have not even warned consumers of the risks involved with these collars.

The plaintiff for this class action, John Czerniak, bought two Seresto collars on January 17, 2021. He put one of the collars on the neck of his dog Romeo, as directed by the instructions. However, shortly after he put the collar on the animal, the complaint alleges, “his dog, Romeo, suffered seizures on several occasions and also experienced skin irritation.”

Concerned, Czerniak removed the collar. The complaint alleges, “Romeo’s seizures and skin irritation ceased after Plaintiff Czerniak removed the Seresto Collar from Romeo’s neck.”

The collars contain two different pesticides, the complaint says: imidacloprid and flumethrin. The first is used on crops. The complaint says, “Imidacloprid belongs to the neonicotinoid class of insecticides and is connected with ‘massive die-offs’ of certain non-targeted insects, including bees and butterflies. Evidence shows that these pesticides can cause harm to mammals as well.”

And the other pesticide? The complaint says, “The other pesticides used in Seresto Collars, flumethrin, is only actively included as an ingredient in one product—Seresto Collars—according to EPA documents.”

The complaint says an expert on US pesticide regulation claims that the 75,000 reported incidents are “just the tip of the iceberg.” It quotes him as saying that “[m]ost of the time, people are not going to make the connection of they’re not going to take an hour out of the day and figure out how to call spend time on hold [to report the problem to the EPA].”

The complaint also describes three incidents involving humans who had dogs who wore the collars and who claim to have suffered health problems because they slept in a bed with their dogs.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Tags: Deceptive Advertising, Deceptive Labels, Made or Constructed with Harmful Chemicals