The Darvocet Lawyers

Click the link below to read the judge’s order.

Reeves Initial Order

On June 23, 2011, the United States Supreme Court in the matter of Pliva v. Mensing decided that state law failure to warn cases against generic drug manufacturers are preempted by federal regulations and statutes. A failure to warn case means that a drug manufacturer may be held liable for not warning consumers and patients of increased health risks that the manufacture knows of or should know of. Federal preemption means that when state law conflicts with Federal law, Federal law applies pursuant to the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution. The Supremacy Clause establishes federal law as the supreme law of the land pursuant to the United States Constitution, Article 6, Clause 2. Where state and federal law directly conflict, state law must give way. State and federal law conflict when it is impossible for a private party to comply with both state and federal requirements. « Read the rest of this entry »

On August 16, 2011, the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (“MDL Panel”) issued a transfer order for all Federal Product Liability Claims surrounding the ingestion of Darvocet, Darvon and Propoxyphene.  The MDL Panel considers requests from interested parties to have cases transferred to one court usually for pretrial handling.

The case is pending at MDL Docket number 2226. All of the cases were transferred to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky and assigned to the Honorable Judge Danny C. Reeves. The Court reasoned that there would be thousands of claims from throughout the United States and it would be in the best interests of all parties that the cases be heard before one judge in one court.  It is anticipated that Judge Reeves will be issuing a pretrial order setting forth procedural and substantive requirements. As orders are issued, they will be posted to this website.  If you have questions as a client or as a lawyer regarding the MDL, call Rolf Patberg at 412-232-3500 or complete our free case evaluation form.

1. What drugs were banned by the FDA?

Darvon, Darvocet, Dextropropoxyphene, Darvocet-N-100, Di-Gesic, Darvon with APAP, Propoxyphene Hydrochloride, Propoxyphene Napsylate, Wygesic, Balacet, Propacet 100 and Propoxyphene.

2. When did the FDA ban happen?

November 19, 2010.

3. What does an FDA ban mean? « Read the rest of this entry »

The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) has postponed a decision on consolidating all federal Darvon / Darvocet lawsuits until the Panel’s July 2011 hearing session.  The panel met on March 30 to decide whether the lawsuits should be handled by a single judge.  The JPML said it needs more time to weigh arguments for and against consolidation.

Public criticism has mounted against the FDA, accusing the regulatory body of waiting far too long to ban Propoxyphene in order to protect public consumers. “Due to FDA negligence, at least 1,000 to 2,000 or more people in the U.S. have died from using Propoxyphene since the time the U.K. ban was announced,” Sidney Wolfe, M.D., Director of Public Citizen’s health research group, says in a news release. Dr. Wolfe states that Public Citizen will request a congressional investigation into who at the FDA “was responsible for the loss of so many lives in this country.” « Read the rest of this entry »

The FDA’s recent ban on Propoxyphene (Darvon or Darvocet) in the U.S. market has many citizen advocates asking what took the FDA so long to prohibit the prescription and use of this drug. The Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, led by Dr. Sidney Wolfe M.D., asked the FDA to ban the drug thirty-two years ago without effect. Now, six years after the United Kingdom announced a ban on the drug, and a year and a half after Europe banned its use, a U.S. study completed in September 2010 has concluded that the drug’s risks of fatal heart rhythms outweigh its benefits.

The Public Citizen’s Health Research Group estimates that one hundred twenty million Propoxyphene scripts have been filled in the U.S., resulting in one to two thousand avoidable deaths from the drug. Despite evidence that Propoxyphene was an addictive agent that poorly controlled pain, superior alternatives were underutilized and patients were put at risk for decades.  If you, a family member or a friend have taken Darvocet/Darvon and have heart problems, you need to speak with an attorney.  Call Patberg, Carmody & Ging at 1-800-471-6880 or complete our evaluation form for a free consultation.  We can help.  You don’t know until you ask.