Soresto agrees to $15M settlement over collars

Most complained about product in EPA’s history

If you’ve ever purchased a Seresto flea and tick collar, you’re eligible for up to $13 for every one purchased under a settlement in a class-action lawsuit filed against the company.

If your pet died in a manner “allegedly related” to wearing a Seresto product, you’re eligible for $300 plus medical costs plus fees for burial or cremation.

In 2021 two pet owners filed a class action lawsuit against Elanco Animal Health, the manufacturer of the popular Seresto products. 27 more joined, claiming their dogs either died or developed problems after using Seresto flea and tick collars. The suit alleges that Elanco “misrepresented the Product through affirmative statements, halftruths, and omissions regarding the safety of the Product.”

Reporting from Investigate Midwest and USA TODAY found that Seresto is the most complained about product in the history of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with over 101,000 incident reports including nearly 2,700 pet deaths and 894 incidents involving humans, as of Oct. 3, 2022.

According to the EPA’s investigation of 1,400 deaths reported between 20162020, the only deaths that were “probably” or “definitely” related to Seresto products were associated with mechanical strangulation or trauma caused by the collar, often due to a failure of the release mechanism. The EPA reported that the rate of deaths reported for Seresto was similar to that for other pet products reviewed.

The EPA ruled that the collars could stay on the market as they met the agency’s standard under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, but required Elanco to conduct enhanced reporting for adverse events, do additional outreach to the veterinary community and put new warnings on the product’s label, among other changes.

The company has not admitted wrongdoing, saying that years of evidence and the use of more than 110 million collars around the world proved the product to be safe if stated warnings were heeded, but has agreed to a $15 million settlement. The amount still needs to be approved in court.

If the court approves the settlement and you are in the U.S. or its territories:

Collar reimbursement: You may ● receive $13 for every collar purchased. If you have receipts, there is no limit to how many you can claim. If you do not have receipts, you’re limited to a maximum cash award of $26 per pet.

Injury reimbursement: You may ● choose from a $25 payment for economic injury or 100% reimbursement for any out-of-pocket, non-reimbursed costs paid for medical treatment, with documentation

Pet death reimbursement: You ● can receive both a $300 for the death of a pet allegedly related to Seresto products and 100% reimbursement for medical treatment and/or costs relating to burial, cremation or other disposal, with documentation

By filing a claim, you are relinquishing the right to sue or be part of any other legal action against Elanco.

You can submit a claim online or by downloading the claim form and mailing it in.

BARBARA MERCKLE Ivan, a 5-year-old English mastiff, died in May 2019, one day after a Seresto collar was placed on him. His owner, Barbara Merckle, had a necropsy performed on Ivan, which found that he had been in otherwise good health.