Defective Drug Attorneys

Columbia, Lexington, Orangeburg, Sumter, Camden, Newberry, Aiken SC.

Darvon and Darvocet Recall

In November 2010, the Food and Drug Administration announced the recall of the prescription painkiller drugs Darvon and Darvocet. Each of these drugs contains propocyphene and Darvocet also contains acetaminophen. The FDA has determined that benefits attached to both Darvon and Darvocet do not outweigh serious life-threatening risks. Generic versions of the drugs have also been withdrawn from the market.
In addition to the FDA announcement, doctors have been instructed to quit prescribing Darvon and Darvocet immediately. Patients have been told to consult their healthcare provider about switching to a safer alternative.

Risks of Taking Darvon or Darvocet

Darvon was approved by the FDA over 50 years ago for treating mild to moderate post-operative pain. Since 1957, Darvon has become one of the most popular prescription drugs available. Tens of millions of people have taken these drugs to relieve their post-surgical pain.
For decades, evidence has been presented that Darvon and Darvocet pose a significant danger to patients. Public Citizen, a consumer watchdog group, submitted findings to the FDA in 1978, petitioning them to recall the drugs over causing suicidal tendencies and toxins to buildup in the heart. The painkiller was found to also be highly addictive. In addition to these risks, data showed that propoxyphene was only marginally more effective than acetaminophen in pain reduction.
Since these early findings, evidence of risks of Darvon and Darvocet has mounted. Propoxyphene has so far resulted in over 2100 accidental deaths since 1981. Heart rhythm anomalies have been the cause of many of these wrongful deaths.
The U.K. withdrew Darvon and Darvocet from their market in 2005, and Public Citizen renewed their petition to the FDA in 2006. A lawsuit was filed by the group in 2008 for the FDA’s failure to act on the petition. The agency’s advisory panel conducted additional studies into the safety of Darvon and Darvocet. The panel voted to recall the drugs in 2009 based on the strength of the evidence that the minimal benefits did not outweigh the considerable risks.
Had the FDA acted on the evidence earlier, many lives may have been saved.

Darvon and Darvocet Attorneys

The South Carolina law firm, McWhirter, Bellinger & Associates, P.A. is currently accepting cases of those injured by Darvon and Darvocet. We will pursue cases in which objective diagnostic test reports and records are available to document that a patient was taking these drugs at the time of suffering a heart attack, heart failure, or sudden cardiac death.
If you are in the Aiken, Camden, Columbia, Lexington, Newberry, Orangeburg, or Sumter, South Carolina area, please contact the experienced defective drug attorneys in SC at McWhirter, Bellinger & Associates, P.A. for an initial case consultation.