Zero Tolerance and the Duragesic Patch

Despite the limited number of problems, the flaws in the Duragesic Patch are unacceptable.

The Duragesic patch proved to be the source of great controversy. Because the patch was designed with a structural flaw, the release of the medicine in the patch was accelerated. This led to many users of the patch receiving a rapid overdose of the medicine contained in the patch. Now, while this is a serious situation some may wonder if it really is all that serious. After all, it was not like 90% of the people who purchased the patch became ill. So, if only a small percentage of people who used the product became ill is there really any cause for alarm?

The answer to this question is, of course, yes. Remember, the product was not sold with the notice "This will help 9 out of 10 people and 10% of the users will get gravely sick." The manufacturer of the product claimed that the product would prove helpful to ALL the customers who used this pain patch. This should come as no surprise. This is what the pain patch is intended to do! Any deviations from this or any structural flaws in the design of the pain patch must then fall into the category of product liability. Therefore, the lawsuits that have been filed against this product after the unfortunate recall are warranted.

Consumers of all products must be afforded a certain level of safety from the products they purchase. This is true of virtually ever product on the market and it is most true with medicinal products. People purchase these products to improve the quality of their life and not to become sicker. So, there really is no excuse for any Duragesic patch to be released with a flawed structural design. Yet, this is what has happened and that is why the manufacturer is facing many legal threats.