Baxter loses in Calif. latex suit, Ansell wins in N.J.

OAKLAND, Calif. (July 21)—An Alameda County, Calif., court has ordered Baxter Healthcare Corp. to pay a former nurse approximately $1.13 million in a latex allergy case. Christine McGinnis, who worked at St. Joseph´s Hospital in Stockton, Calif., claimed she was forced to quit her job in 1996 after developing severe latex allergies because of the gloves Baxter supplied to her hospital. Baxter, which spun off its medical glove business into Allegiance Corp. in 1996, is fully indemnified against glove-related liabilities. Meanwhile, a judge in Middlesex County, N.J., superior court granted summary judgment to Ansell Healthcare Products Inc. and Johnson & Johnson in a latex allergy case. The glove manufacturers argued that Victoria Venuto, a former dental assistant, had missed New Jersey´s two-year statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit, and the judge concurred.