The Nevada Supreme Court heard arguments Monday from lawyers from Teva Parenteral Medicines and Baxter Healthcare, following a 2010 jury decision that ordered the companies to pay a combined $500 million in punitive damages for allegedly distributing overly large vials of propofol to clinics, according to an NECN report.
The companies were found guilty last year of breach of implied warranty and failure to warn. The patient behind the case, Henry Chanin, contracted hepatitis C in 2006 during a routine procedure. His lawyers argued that the vials of propofol provided to the clinic were too large for a single use and invited use for multiple patients.
Lawyers for Teva and Baxter have maintained the vials were properly marked with instructions and warnings. They now argue that jurors should be allowed to hear about other possible causes of hepatitis C at the involved colonoscopy clinics, run by Dipak Desai, MD. Since Mr. Chanin contracted the disease, Dr. Desai and two nurses have been indicted on criminal charges, including racketeering, insurance fraud and neglect of patients.
The Chanin case is currently under appeal.
Read the NECN report on Teva and Baxter's appeal.
Read more on single-use vials:
-A Measure of Safety: Preventing Infection During Medication Administration
-Top 10 Patient Safety Issues for 2011
-RACs Finding Errors in Drug Dosages
The companies were found guilty last year of breach of implied warranty and failure to warn. The patient behind the case, Henry Chanin, contracted hepatitis C in 2006 during a routine procedure. His lawyers argued that the vials of propofol provided to the clinic were too large for a single use and invited use for multiple patients.
Lawyers for Teva and Baxter have maintained the vials were properly marked with instructions and warnings. They now argue that jurors should be allowed to hear about other possible causes of hepatitis C at the involved colonoscopy clinics, run by Dipak Desai, MD. Since Mr. Chanin contracted the disease, Dr. Desai and two nurses have been indicted on criminal charges, including racketeering, insurance fraud and neglect of patients.
The Chanin case is currently under appeal.
Read the NECN report on Teva and Baxter's appeal.
Read more on single-use vials:
-A Measure of Safety: Preventing Infection During Medication Administration
-Top 10 Patient Safety Issues for 2011
-RACs Finding Errors in Drug Dosages