On Monday, a jury in Illinois State Court in Chicago determined that Janice DiCosolo, 38, died in February 2004 because the patch she was wearing delivered a fatal dose of the narcotic fentanyl.   The Duragesic patch is made by Alza Corporation which is owned by Johnson & Johnson; the patch is distributed by Janssen Pharmaceutica, another Johnson & Johnson company.   The jury awarded her family 16.6 million dollars.

“We disagree with the jury’s verdict,” said Greg Panico, a spokesman for the Johnson & Johnson units, in an e-mailed statement. “We are considering our options for an appeal.”

Defense lawyers cited an autopsy report that indicated DiCosolo died from the interaction of at least 5 drugs including fentanyl that were found in her system.

At trial plaintiff’s lawyers said that Fentanyl is a drug that is 100 times more potent than morphine and is contained in a patch that is intended to be worn for 72 hours, then discarded.  Jim Orr, a plaintiff’s attorney, said that each patch contained enough fentanyl to kill 10 men, each weighing 150 pounds.

Janssen recalled one lot of Duragesic patches in February 2004, a day after DiCosolo died, because of improper sealing of the adhesive backing of the devices, defense lawyer David Sudzus wrote in a court filing. The patch worn by DiCosolo was from that lot, he said.

The patches generated $1.16 billion  dollars in sales for Johnson & Johnson last year but the company has still lost each case that has gone to a jury.

In July 2006, a state court jury in Houston ordered Janssen and Alza to pay $772,500 to the family of a Texas woman who died after her patch leaked.  Johnson & Johnson in July 2007 agreed to pay the family of a Florida man $2.5 million to resolve claims that Adam Hendelson, 28, had died after using one of the patches.  A jury in Sanford, Florida, awarded more than $13 million to the family of Susan Hodgemire, a 34-year-old mother of five who died after using a Duragesic patch in 2002.

On January 12th Johnson & Johnson will be facing another pain patch trial in federal court in Chicago.

Yes, they are.

As recently as February 2008 a number of manufacturers recalled pain patches for what is called a fold over defect.

the 14 lots of Fentanyl transdermal system patches being recalled may have a fold-over defect which may cause the patch to leak and expose patients or caregivers directly to the fentanyl gel. Exposure to fentanyl directly can cause serious harm, including breathing problems and overdose, which can be fatal.

For more information see our Fentanyl Poisoning Lawyer page.