A jury in Houston awarded $772,500 to the family of a woman who was killed by a fault in the painkiller patch, Duragesic. The patch is intended to deliver hourly doses of fentanyl in a highly controlled chemical system, but a leak in the patch caused the comman anesthetic to terminate the respiratory center in the brain, resulting in Ms. Thompson’s fatal suffocation. Analysis of the level of Ms. Thompson’s blood showed ten times the level of fentayl normally administered for pain relief.
The jury found that Johnson & Johnson’s Alza subsidiary had been negligent in the production of Duragesic, allowing a faulty product to hit the market. The patch has been found defective in 11 of 12 tried cases so far, with about 100 cases pending.
If you or someone you know has suffered an injury due to a defective drug like Duragesic, please feel free to contact a personal injury attorney in your area. Marc Whitehead & Associates of Houston, Texas have years of experience in dealing with defective drug and product litigation.
