• 27
  • January
    2012

As Ohio residents know, medicine is used to assist people with recovery from various illnesses. Most of the time, medicinal technology works as it is supposed to by assisting and supporting the person in the need. Nevertheless, sometimes medications are defective and do not operate as expected. In some cases, this causes harm to the individual that has used the drug.

In a recent story, family members of a Utah woman have filed a wrongful death suit against a pharmaceutical company. According to reports, the drug corporation manufactured a faulty pain-relief patch. Court documents explain that the California-based corporation knowingly produced transdermal patches that released unsafe amounts of fentanyl, a synthetic drug approximately 100 times stronger than morphine.

Sources say that the victim passed away after using just one of the patches. Toxicology results showed the woman had a toxic level of fentanyl in her blood at the time of her passing. As a result, the plaintiffs argue that the medical patch was the proximate cause of the victim's death.

The attorneys of the family say that the patch was defective because of a manufacturing flaw that made the product unsafe for its intended use. The patch could have been produced with a "matrix" design rather than the "reservoir." The faulty design allowed the drug to leak too quickly, thus administering toxic levels into the victim's blood.

The family of the victim in this story is seeking punitive and exemplary damages against the defendant. If you or a loved one has sustained significant problems as a result of a dangerous drug or medical device, you may potentially recover for any harms or losses suffered. For this reason, you may want to speak to an attorney about your various avenues of recovery.

Source: The Herald Journal, "Hyde Park family files wrongful death suit against pharmaceutical company," Jan. 26, 2012