Darvon Lawsuits Sought By Three Injured Louisiana Residents

The United States Food and Drug Administration banned all products containing propoxyphene in November 2010, since then there has been an increase in Darvocet Lawsuits filed. Three Louisiana residents have just recently filed lawsuits against many of the drug manufacturers that either produce or distribute propoxyphene, claiming that these companies failed to warn them of the dangerous side effects of the drug and this caused them to get injured.

On March 4, 2011 the three Louisiana Residents, Billy Lambert, Gladys Delaune, and Margaret Seagraves filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The plaintiffs accuse several drug companies that have a history with Darvocet, including Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals, AAIPharma Services, Eli Lilly and Company, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, and Qualitest Pharmaceuticals. The original developer of Darvon (1957) and Darvocet (1972) was Eli Lily and Company before selling the drugs to AAIPharma in 2002, after which Xanodyne purchased the rights for Darvon and Darvocet after AAI became insolvent. Propoxyphene is also generically manufactured by a number of companies, including Teva and Qualitest.

These lawsuits claim that the drugs which contained propoxyphene and cause the plaintiffs to develop serious, life-threatening heart conditions, including wide complex tachycardia, a type of cardiac rhythm abnormality. The claims also include the fact that the drug companies knew or had a reasonable amount of knowledge that propoxyphene can potentially cause the cardiac injuries the plaintiffs. And now with the independent study done by Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals showed that propoxyphene can cause heart abnormalities in patients with no prior heart problems even with the normal amount of prescription, the case against the pharmaceutical companies is overwhelming.

There is a schedule for Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) later this month to see if all the Darvon and Darvocet Lawsuits should be placed under a single judge for pretrial proceedings. The MDL would allow all those who have been injured by Darvon or Darvocet to save a significant amount of time and money.

Almost all of the growing number of Darvocet Lawsuits being filed are claiming that the pharmaceutical companies failed to warn them of the side effects of drugs that contain propoxyphene. If the drug companies had sufficient amount of knowledge about the side effects of their drugs, they are legally bound to warn their customers about them, and since no warning was given those who have been injured will see their day in court.

What it is and how to deal with it: Atrial Fibrillation

What is Atrial Fibrillation and how do I deal with it

To understand what atrial fibrillation is we first have to understand what is happening with a healthy heart.  Though the heart is a complicated organ with a very serious job to do, we can picture the heart quite simply – picture two sets of paired chambers, one larger pair sits on top of the lower, smaller pair.  The larger chambers are known as atria (or atrium if singular) and the lower chambers are known as ventricles. 

The atrium’s job is to collect the blood as it enters the heart and then to push this blood into the ventricle sitting below it which will in turn, expel the blood from the heart under pressure as it starts its journey around the body again.  This results in the double-beat of the normal, healthy heart as first the atrium contracts and then the ventricle – this is known as the Sinus Rhythm by doctors.  How this is all coordinated is the responsibility of a part of the heart located at the top of the right atrium – this is known as the Sinus Node or he Sinoatrial Node (the SA Node) – this is the heart’s natural pacemaker.  The electrical signal travels across the right to the left atrium and ends at the Atrioventricular Node (the AV Node) and when received, the atrium contracts just before the beat of the ventricles.

Now atrial fibrillation occurs where the electrical signal bypasses the atrium (hence the “atrial” term) – the atrium doesn’t contract properly and instead, it “fibrillates” and to imagine this, think of a jelly on a plate when it is shook.  What causes the electrical signal to bypass the atrium or to deteriorate which also can cause the condition may be damage to the SA Node or some other condition.Regardless of the cause, symptoms can go unnoticed until something serious like a heart attack or stroke occurs.  This is why it is important to have regular cardiac screenings which can identify the condition early.

Those with a history of heart problems, rheumatic fever, diabetes or strokes are all in a higher risk category for contracting atrial fibrillation.  Symptoms that present themselves may include shortness of breath, intolerance to exercise, palpitations and sometimes even angina.  The condition lends itself to treatment with mild instances not requiring any treatment where the patient is not in a high risk group or the symptoms are not creating issues for the patient.  First stage treatment includes medication to control the heart rhythm and the use of catheters though open-heart surgery may be required using an operation known as the Maze Procedure. 

The Maze procedure consists of making incisions in the atrium and sewing them up again; this allows the atrium to hold blood and contract normally but the electrical signal cannot traverse the incisions that have been made – the signal must follow the route which is delineated by the incisions and cannot, therefore, bypass the atrium.Sometimes an artificial pacemaker will need to take the place of the SA Node that is damaged by the disease.  The success rate is high with 80% to 100% success rate being reported.