Lawyers representing patients who took the pharmaceutical Digitek, which was recalled by its manufacturer, are seeking to have their lawsuits consolidated before a single judge.
Lawyers representing patients who took the pharmaceutical Digitek, which was recalled by its manufacturer, are seeking to have their lawsuits consolidated before a single judge.
Lawyers Tony L. O'Dell of Charleston, James C. Peterson of Charleston and Barry Hill of Wheeling filed a motion Thursday with Kanawha Circuit Judge Charles King,
O'Dell, a lawyer with the Charleston firm of Berthold, Tiano & O'Dell, filed the first two West Virginia lawsuits, representing one client who died and another who was injured after taking tablets that contained toxic levels of Digitek, also known as Digoxin, which is used to treat various heart failure and abnormal heart rhythm problems.
Actavis Totowa itself announced the problem in an April 25 news release that it distributed nationally, warning that dangers posed by taking those tablets included: "nausea, vomiting, dizziness, low blood pressure, cardiac instability and bradycardia," as well as possible death.
Thursday's motion predicts an increasing number of cases will be filed related to the sale and consumption of tablets.
The motion "estimate[s] in good faith that the number of cases ultimately to be filed in West Virginia will be at least in the hundreds and more likely in the thousands."
The motion asks King to consolidate all the lawsuits for several reasons, including:
Actavis and other defendants "should not have to produce their employees for a deposition 1,000 times for 1,000 cases."
Lawyers representing patients who took the pharmaceutical Digitek, which was recalled by its manufacturer, are seeking to have their lawsuits consolidated before a single judge.
Lawyers Tony L. O'Dell of Charleston, James C. Peterson of Charleston and Barry Hill of Wheeling filed a motion Thursday with Kanawha Circuit Judge Charles King,
O'Dell, a lawyer with the Charleston firm of Berthold, Tiano & O'Dell, filed the first two West Virginia lawsuits, representing one client who died and another who was injured after taking tablets that contained toxic levels of Digitek, also known as Digoxin, which is used to treat various heart failure and abnormal heart rhythm problems.
Actavis Totowa itself announced the problem in an April 25 news release that it distributed nationally, warning that dangers posed by taking those tablets included: "nausea, vomiting, dizziness, low blood pressure, cardiac instability and bradycardia," as well as possible death.
Thursday's motion predicts an increasing number of cases will be filed related to the sale and consumption of tablets.
The motion "estimate[s] in good faith that the number of cases ultimately to be filed in West Virginia will be at least in the hundreds and more likely in the thousands."
The motion asks King to consolidate all the lawsuits for several reasons, including:
Actavis and other defendants "should not have to produce their employees for a deposition 1,000 times for 1,000 cases."
Avoiding multiple trials will reduce costs.
Consolidating lawsuits also will reduce demands on the state's court system.
Thursday's motion also includes a seven-page "warning letter" dated Feb. 1, 2007, sent to Actavis Totowa from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The letter detailed results from an on-site Food and Drug Administration inspection of the pharmaceutical facility in Little Falls, N.J., between July 10 and Aug. 10, 2006.
The lawsuits and Thursday's legal motion name defendants including: Actavis Totowa LLC, Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Mylan Bertek Pharmaceuticals, UDL Laboratories Inc. and Rite Aid Corp.
Actavis Totowa, which manu-factured, tested and marketed the Digitek pills sold in West Virginia, is a New Jersey-based division of the Actavis Group, an international generic pharmaceutical company based in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Mylan, headquartered in Canonburg, Pa., has most of its commercial and production operations in Morgantown. Mylan distributed Digitek under the Bertek and UDL labels.
Reach Paul J. Nyden at pjnyden @wvgazette.com or 348-5164.
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