Jury Returns Plaintiffs Verdict in First Pain Patch Suit: "Jury Returns Plaintiffs Verdict in First Pain Patch Suit
John Council
Texas Lawyer
July 24, 2006
A plaintiff in a Houston state district court recently scored the first jury award in the nation against drug manufacturers accused of selling an allegedly faulty drug patch designed to control pain.
The family of Michaelynn Thompson sued Alza Corp. and Janssen Pharmaceutica Products, subsidiaries of the Johnson & Johnson Corp., alleging Thompson died from using the Duragesic patch.
Thompson was prescribed the Duragesic patch to help control pain after she was injured in a car accident, according to the fourth amended petition in Thompson, et al. v. Alza Corp., et al. As alleged in the petition, Thompson died because the Duragesic patch released too much fentanyl, a strong pain reliever, into her body.
The drug manufacturers denied that the patch contributed to Thompson's death. In their response, they argued that the patch was accompanied by proper warnings and information and had been approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
On July 7, a jury found there was a defect in the patch and returned a $772,500 plaintiffs verdict in the wrongful death suit.
'It's a horribly potent drug if it's being dumped into the body in an uncontrolled fashion,' says Tommy Fibich, a partner in Houston's Fibich Hampton & Leebron who represents the plaintiffs. Fibich says there are about 100 similar suits pending nationwide against the drug manufacturers.
Mark Wolfe, a spokesman for the defendants, says the Duragesic patch is safe.
Notes Wolfe, 'Our thoughts are with the family of Michaelynn Thompson as they mourn their loss. We disagree with the outcome of the trial, and we are evaluating our legal options. We are confident in"