HORP&B and Gulas & Stuckey: $5.5 Million
Award in First Federal Fentanyl Pain Patch Trial
$5.5 Million Award
in First Federal Fentanyl Patch Trial
From www.medadnews.com
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.,
June 19, 2007
PRNewswire
The family of
a Florida man has won a $5.5 million wrongful
death verdict against two subsidiaries of pharmaceutical
giant Johnson & Johnson in
the nation's first federal trial involving a
patch form of the narcotic painkiller fentanyl.
The
2-man, 6-woman jury deliberated for 11 hours
over two days before returning their verdict
earlier today in the U.S.
District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Janssen Pharmaceutica
Products, LP, and ALZA
Corp. were sued by the family of 28-year-old
Adam Hendelson following his death on Dec. 17,
2003. Both companies are subsidiaries of New
Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson.
Mr.
Hendelson suffered chronic hip pain as a result
of an automobile accident, and wore a
Duragesic (R) patch on his right arm. Duragesic
is the brand name of a transdermal patch that
contains a gel form of the drug fentanyl, an
opium-like substance that is up to 100 times
stronger than morphine.
"In essence, the jury found that Adam Hendelson
did not have to die," said Jim
Orr of Dallas'
Heygood, Orr, Reyes, Pearson & Bartolomei, attorney
for the Hendelson family. "The facts and
the evidence clearly showed that Janssen and
ALZA knew that problems with the Duragesic patches
could hurt or kill someone, and in Adam's case,
that's exactly what happened."
Also representing
the Hendelson family were Mr. Orr's partners Angel
Reyes and Charles
Miller,
along with attorneys Ike
Gulas, Jason
Stuckey,
and Ed Angwin from the Birmingham, Ala., firm
of Gulas & Stuckey,
P.C.
Janssen and ALZA both manufacture and sell
Duragesic patches, which accounted for $1.5 billion
in total sales in 2005. In June 2005, more than
a year after Mr. Hendelson's death, the defendants
issued new health warnings regarding the use
of Duragesic.
Heygood, Orr, Reyes, Pearson & Bartolomei
is an AV-rated firm that focuses its practice
on the representation of plaintiffs in business
disputes, civil litigation matters, and more.
With 12 attorneys and a staff of 50, the firm's
trial teams handle a full array of civil litigation
and business cases across Texas and the United
States.
For more information on the verdict, please
contact Mark Annick at 800-559-4534 (office),
214-213-1754 (mobile) or mark@legalpr.com
CONTACT:
Mark Annick for Heygood, Orr, Reyes, Pearson & Bartolomei,
1-800-559-4534,cell, 214-213-1754, mark@legalpr.com
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