The Darvon and Darvocet Recall

Darvon and Darvocet are both painkillers and were among the most popular on the market. These drugs, as well as a host of others that contain the substance propoxyphene have been recalled from the market after it was discovered that they had potentially dangerous side effects. The FDA asked the manufacturer of Darvocet and Darvon to remove the drugs in November of 2010. The manufacturer, Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals has complied with the recall.

Why a Drug Recall?

A drug recall is usually only ordered when it is discovered that there are very dangerous side effects associated with the drug that were not immediately known. In some cases, it is a flaw in the manufacturing process that causes the deadly side effects. In other cases, it is simply the fact that the manufacturer failed to disclose the dangers that the drug posed to that leads to the recall. Pharmaceuticals are, by their very nature, dangerous products. Whether or not there is cause to sue the company over unsafe drugs depends upon the level of disclosure that the company engaged in when they released the drugs on the market.

Potential Impact

At the time that the withdrawal request was made by the FDA, there were approximately 10 million people taking Darvon, Darvocet or other drugs that contain propoxyphene. This ingredient was found to cause an irregular heartbeat in patients. For some patients, obviously, this is a condition that could obviously turn deadly very quickly. For all patience, abnormal heart rhythms do have the potential to develop into worse problems. The problems with Darvon, Darvocet and other drugs that contain propoxyphene were found to be present at regular dosages, meaning that the average patient prescribed these drugs could reasonably anticipate that they might suffer these side effects.

Lawyers

If you have been treated with the drug that contained propoxyphene and have suffered irregular heart rhythms, you may wish to contact a defective products attorney. Cases against drug companies that allege damage due to their products being inherently dangerous in a way that was not disclosed to consumers are handled by product liability attorneys. You can usually meet with one of these attorneys at no cost to yourself and let them determine whether or not you have a lawsuit that's worth pursuing. With so many patients having taken propoxyphene drugs, it is likely that there will be quite a few lawsuits to come over these drugs.