Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

Individuals suing manufacturers of Digitek heart medicine must fill out lengthy and detailed fact sheets on their medical history and allow no secrets from their past, according to The West Virginia Record.

The fact sheets will be used in court to determine whether Mylan Pharmaceuticals of West Virginia, Actavis US and DUL Laboratories misrepresented Digitek as safe and whether physicians and patients relied on those “misrepresentations and deceptions” in choosing to use the heart medicine.

Digitek is used in the treatment of various heart conditions such as atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter and heart failure. In 2008, the FDA issued an alert to the public of a recall of Digitek, after it was found that some tablets had been released at double the thickness, which were thought to contain double the active ingredient. As a result, some patients experienced digoxin toxicity, which can result in life-threatening complications.

The lawsuit argues that, “Plaintiffs have sustained severe physical injuries and/or death, severe emotional distress, mental anguish, economic losses and other damages for which they are entitled to compensatory and equitable damages.”

The fact sheets require plaintiffs to detail 10 years of medical history including the names of every doctor who saw them, every hospital that admitted them and every pharmacy that dispensed medications to them, as well as providing full disclosure for psychological disorders, substances abuse and acquired immune deficiency syndrome. They also are required to list all drugs they have taken and list possible side effects, complete a chart of diagnoses of family members, and state how much they smoke, how long they have smoked, and how much and how often they drink alcohol. They must complete charts of Digitek or Lanoxin pills usage. And, plaintiffs must submit job records including pensions and insurance and disclose all workers compensation claims, disability claims and personal injury lawsuits.

To date, more than 100 Digitek lawsuits have been transferred to U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin, and more are expected to be added.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 9th, 2009 at 12:05 pm and is filed under Digitek Legal, Digitek recall, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.