Date: 11-19-2008

Case Style: Family and Estate of Janice DiCosolo v. Johnson & Johnson d/b/a Janssen Pharmaceutica Inc. and ALZA Corp.

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Judge:

Court: Circuit Court, Cook County, Illinois

Plaintiff's Attorney: Jim Orr, Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon, Chicago, Illinois

Defendant's Attorney:

Description: The family and estate of Janie DiCosolo, age 38, who died on February 15, 2004 sued Johnson & Johnson subsidiaries that make and distribute the painkilling skin patch Duragesic on a products liability wrongful death theory.

Mr. DiCosolo doctor prescribed the pain killer to reduce pain caused by a neurological condition called reflex sympathetic dystrophy. Plaintiffs claimed that the patch delivered a fatal dose of its main ingredient, the powerful narcotic pain reliever fentanyl.

Plaintiffs claimed that defendants knew about problems with the Duragesic patch that allowed it to leak fentanyl in doses large enough to kill patients and continued to sell it and make money, and that's the only reason Janice DiCosolo is dead. Duragesic is a prescription-only product that is intended for cancer patients and others with chronic pain and is designed to dispense the medicine slowly through the skin.


Defendants claimed that DiCosolo's cause of death was polypharmacy, "a mix of multiple and potentially incompatible medications.

Outcome: Plaintiffs' verdict for $16.6 million.

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Defendant's Experts:

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