Lawsuit Filed in Ohio Against Mylan Over Their Fentanyl Pain Patch

Mylan was sued in Ohio in May of 2009 over the death of Joseph LaPaglia.  The lawsuit alleges that Mylan designed, manufactured, and marketed a defective fentanyl patch, and that the defective patch killed Joseph LaPaglia.

23. Plaintiff incorporates by reference the consistent allegations of the preceding paragraphs.

24. Pleading further and without waiver of the foregoing, the LaPaglia Patch was defective under Ohio Revised Statute §2307.76 because it lacked adequate warnings and instructions. Specifically, the LaPaglia Patch was defective due to inadequate warnings and/or instructions because: (a) the Mylan Defendants knew or, in the exercise of reasonable care, should have known about the risk that the Patch could cause a fentanyl overdose and (b) the Mylan Defendants failed to provide the warnings and/or instructions that a manufacturer exercising reasonable care would have provided concerning that risk, in light of the likelihood that the Patch could cause a fentanyl overdose. These risks were not open or obvious or a matter of common knowledge. The Mylan Defendants' failure to provide adequate warnings and/or instructions to Decedent, his doctor, his pharmacist, or other healthcare providers was a proximate cause of Decedent's death and the damages described herein.

25. Alternatively, the LaPaglia Patch was defective due to inadequate post-marketing warnings or instructions because, at a relevant time after it left the control of the manufacturer, the Mylan Defendants: (a) knew or, in the exercise of reasonable care, should have known about a risk that the Patch could cause a potentially fatal fentanyl overdose is associated with the Patch and (b) the Mylan Defendants failed to provide the post-marketing warnings or instructions that a manufacturer exercising reasonable care would have provided concerning that risk, in light of the likelihood that the Patch could cause a fentanyl overdose. These risks were not open or obvious or a matter of common knowledge. The Mylan Defendants' failure to provide adequate warnings and/or instructions to Decedent, his doctor, his pharmacist, or other healthcare providers was a proximate cause of Decedent's death and the damages described herein.