Jury finds Duragesic patch maker responsible for deadly fentanyl overdose
Johnson & Johnson must pay $772,500 to the family of a woman who died from an accidental overdose of fentanyl after her Duragesic patch leaked too much pain-killing medicine through her skin. A Houston jury found that Johnson & Johnson, the company that makes the narcotic skin patch, is responsible for the death of Michaelynn Thompson, who used the Duragesic patch to relieve pain suffered from a car accident.
The Duragesic patch and other fentanyl patches, which are applied to the skin and release a constant narcotic dose to alleviate severe, chronic pain, have been found to leak fentanyl and cause a fatal overdose in some instances.
The Food and Drug Administration is currently examining the deaths of 120 people who are believed to be victims of an accidental fentanyl overdose. In July, the Duragesic patch maker revised its warning label to notify doctors not to prescribe the fentanyl patch to patients who cannot tolerate similar drugs.
According to the prosecution in the case, Thompson’s body was flooded with fentanyl. Her Duragesic lawyers produced documents showing that her system contained 10 times the therapeutic dose of fentanyl when she died.
Roughly 100 Duragesic lawsuits have already been filed over the patch, and more are likely in the near future as adverse long-term side effects are beginning to surface.