Darvocet Class Action Lawsuit-Like Consolidation
According to an order issued last month by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, any individuals who file a Darvocet lawsuit or Darvon lawsuit in any federal court throughout the United States will have their case transferred to one judge for coordinated handling during pretrial litigation as part of an MDL, or multidistrict litigation. While most people refer to this process as a Darvocet class action lawsuit, each case does remain an individual claim and there are important differences between a class action and the Darvocet MDL litigation.
>>BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Darvocet Heart Problems Time Line
A recall for Darvocet, Darvon and other propoxyphene-based pain killers was issued by the FDA in November 2010, after the popular medications were linked to an increased risk of serious and potentially life-threatening abnormal heart rhythm problems.
The Darvocet lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. are investigating potential claims for individuals throughout the country who have suffered a serious injury or death as a result of sudden heart arrythmia, heart attack or other heart problems that may have been caused by side effects of Darvocet or Darvon.
On August 16, an order was issued that centralizes the federal Darvocet recall litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky before U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves. At least 17 Darvocet lawsuits had already been filed in federal district courts throughout the U.S., and hundreds of additional cases are expected in the coming months and years. All of these cases will be centralized before Judge Reeves for coordinated handling during pretrial litigation.
The management of the claims in the MDL will be similar in many regards to how a Darvocet class action suit would be handled, but each claim does remain a separate action, as the injuries and damages suffered by each plaintiff are different and each plaintiff must still establish that their injuries were caused by Darvocet or Darvon.
Consolidation of the Darvocet litigation will provide several benefits for plaintiffs similar to a class action lawsuit, as pretrial litigation will be coordinated to reduce duplicative discovery in all of the different cases and consolidating the cases before one judge will also eliminate inconsistent rulings by judges in different courts on the same or similar issues. Centralization of pretrail proceedings will also serve the convenience of the parties, the witnesses and the courts.
As part of the MDL process, the judge will usually select a small group of cases, known as Darvocet “bellwether” lawsuits, which will be prepared for early trials within the MDL. Unlike a class action, the outcome of the bellwether trials will not be binding on other cases in the litigation, but the process is usually useful in allowing the parties to gauge the relative strengths and weaknesses of their cases, which may help facilitate Darvocet settlement agreements in other cases.
DARVOCET AND DARVON CLASS ACTION LITIGATION LAWYERS
Medical experts have been questioning the safety of Darvocet and Darvon for years, with the first petition for the FDA to issue a propoxyphene recall filed in 1978, after data suggested that the drug may cause potentially harmful toxins to build up in the heart. Although Darvon and Darvocet were recalled in the U.K. in 2005 due to an increased risk of suicide and overdose, it remained available in the United States. The consumer group Public Citizen filed a petition in 2006, and filed a Darvocet lawsuit against the FDA in 2008 over their failure to act on their petition to ban the drug in the United States.
Darvon and Darvocet problems were linked to over 2,110 deaths between 1981 and 1999, accounting for 5.6% of all drug deaths during the time.
As a result of the drug makers’ failure to remove Darvocet and Darvon from the market earlier, and failure to adequately warn about the risk of serious and potentially life-threatening injury, compensation may be available through a product liability lawsuit. To review a potential claim for yourself, a friend or family member, request a free consultation and claim evaluation.
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