Fentanyl is a powerful narcotic painkiller. About 80 times more potent than morphine, fentanyl is the active ingredient in transdermal pain patches that have been linked to hundreds of deaths and serious injuries. The lawyers of Carey & Danis are offering free consultations to people nationwide who have been injured or whose family members have died after using the fentanyl patch.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the transdermal patch as a means of delivering the narcotic in 1990. The patches, which come in dosages of 12.5, 25, 50, 75 and 100 micrograms per hour, are designed to deliver the drug steadily over a prolonged period.

Initially sold by Johnson & Johnson as the Duragesic patch, the transdermal patches are also now sold in generic form by Sandoz, Mylan, Watson Pharmaceuticals and Actavis.

In February 2004, five lots of Duragesic pain patches were recalled because of fold-over defects that could lead to drug leakage. A subsequent investigation by the FDA revealed several other leak defects in the patch.

In July 2005, the FDA issued a public health advisory after receiving reports of serious injuries and deaths related to the fentanyl patch. The advisory highlighted the potency of the drug and warned that it was being overprescribed for mild pain.

The FDA continued receiving notices of deaths and injuries related to the pain patch and renewed the public health advisory on Dec. 21, 2007. Once again, the FDA noted that doctors were improperly prescribing the fentanyl patches for “headaches [and] occasional or mild pain.” The agency stressed that the pain patch is only meant for patients who, because they already take regular, daily, around-the-clock pain medicine, are opioid tolerant and listed the dangers of the drug:

“For patients who are not opioid-tolerant, the amount of fentanyl in one fentanyl patch of the lowest strength is large enough to cause dangerous side effects, such as respiratory depression (severe trouble breathing or very slow or shallow breathing) and death.”

Improper prescribing isn’t the only problem: The patches themselves continue to be plagued with potentially deadly defects.

On Feb. 12, 2008, Johnson & Johnson recalled approximately 32 million Duragesic and Sandoz pain patches for defects that could lead to leaks.

Five days later, on Feb. 17, 2008, Actavis recalled 14 lots of fentanyl transdermal patches because a fold-over defect posed the risk of leakage. The recall was later expanded to all lots of fentanyl transdermal system CII patches.

On Aug. 8, 2008, Watson Pharmaceuticals recalled one lot of 75-mg fentanyl patches because leakage of fentanyl gel had been detected.

Symptoms of fentanyl overdose include:

• Trouble breathing or slow, shallow breathing
• Slow heartbeat
• Extreme sleepiness
• Cold, clammy skin
• Trouble walking or talking
• Faintness, dizziness or confusion

If you or a loved one has suffered a serious complication after using a fentanyl transdermal patch, contact the attorneys of Carey & Danis. We can help. Carey & Danis is a national law firm that represents individuals injured by America’s largest corporations.

At Carey & Danis, even though our lawyers have recovered more than $695 million for our clients, including individual settlements of over $10 million and class-wide settlements of more than $90 million, we count our clients as our most important asset.