On March 18, 2020, Novartis issued a recall for their Sandimmune (cyclosporine capsules, USP) 100 mg soft gelatin capsules and Neoral (cyclosporine capsules, USP) MODIFIED 100 mg soft gelatin capsule prescription drug blister packages. According to the recall (recall number 20-091), the packaging of the prescription drug fails to meet the child resistant standards set by the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA); therefore, the product represents a poisoning ris to young children who gain access to the product.
According to the recall, approximately 73,000 products have been affected by the recall. The packages of the Sandimmune 100 mg contain three blister cards (which contain ten soft gel capsules per card). The Neoral 100 mg packages contain five blister cards (which contain six soft gel capsules per card). The recalled prescription drugs can be identified by the following information:
- Sandimmune (cyclosporine capsules, USP) 100 mg soft gelatin capsules
- NDC Numbers: 0078-0241-15 and 0078-0241-61
- Lot Numbers: APCA136, APCA339, APCA793, and APCC238
- Expiration Dates: 09/2020, 02/2021, 01/2022, and 07/2020
- Neoral (cyclosporine capsules, USP) MODIFIED 100 mg soft gelatin capsules
- NDC Numbers: 0078-0248-15 and 0078-0248-61
- Lot Numbers: APCA437 and APCA979
- Expiration Dates: 07/2020 and 03/2021
The defective prescription drugs were available at pharmacies and clinics nationwide from March 2018 through March 2020. The price varied based on health coverage, quantities prescribed, and other factors.
According to the company, no incidents or injuries have been reported by consumers. The company is urging all consumers to secure the product both out of sight and out of reach of children as well as to contact them for a free child-resistant pouch to store the medications. The company claims that the prescription could continue to use the medication as described. Consumers should use the child-resistant pouches until new child-resistant packaging is made available.
Should you follow these recommendations? If your child suffered poisoning associated with the defective product, you should do much more than what is recommended by the company. Specifically, you should explore the possibility of pursuing a product liability claim against Novartis. Depending on the details surrounding the incident and the harm suffered, you could sue for the harm that your child suffered – you might even have grounds to recover monetary compensation.
If you are interested in exploring the legal options available to you, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the product liability lawyers at Normandie Law Firm at your earliest convenience. Normandie Law Firm is a personal injury law firm with many years of experience handling all sorts of claims – including defective product claims. Our lawyers are ready to evaluate your claim and provide you with the guidance that you need to sue Novartis for the harm that you suffered.
The Risk of Poisoning Associate with the Defective Product
As explained above, the defective product fails to meet the child-resistant packaging requirement based on the PPPA. The PPPA requires hazardous substances, like medications, to be contained in child resistant packaging to lessen the risk of young children gaining access to the product. When companies fail to adhere to the PPPA, they are negligently putting their consumers at risk of suffering harm. Depending on the amount of prescription medication swallowed by young children, they may exhibit a number of symptoms – in some cases, the harm suffered could be fatal. Regardless of the specific harm suffered, it is important to note that you might have grounds to sue.
Product Liability and the Consumer Right to Sue
You might have grounds to sue based on the concept of product liability. Based on product liability, all companies owe their consumers a specific duty of care – they have the duty to ensure that their products are completely safe for consumers to use. This means that they have to thoroughly inspect and test their products to ensure that their products are safe. If they fail to ensure the safety of their products, they are breaching their duty of care – and they are negligently putting consumers at risk. The breach of duty could result in incidents that could cause harm to innocent children. Whenever the harm that a consumer suffers is a direct result of a defect (in design, labeling, or manufacturing), the company could be held liable.
What does this mean? If the harm a consumer suffers is a result of a defect present in a product, the company could be sued. That is, if your child was harmed by a defective product, you could pursue a product liability claim against the liable company. To learn more about product liability and your right to sue, do not hesitate to contact the experts at our firm today.
What Should You Do?
Although being harmed by defective products is common, consumers, in general, do not know what to do after being affected by a defective product. This can negatively affect the possibility of pursuing a claim. To prepare to hold a liable company accountable for the harm that your child suffered, you should consider doing the following after being harmed:
- Seek medical attention as soon as possible
- Take photos of any physical injuries
- Gather all medical records associated with the defective product
- Take photos of the defective product
- Keep the defective product in a safe place out of reach of children
- Contact the company to report the incident, the defect, and the harm suffered
- Do not agree to a repair, replacement, or refund
- Do not agree to return the defective product
- Speak to any witnesses and collect their contact information
- Gather any documents related to the purchase/prescription of the product
- Seek legal assistance immediately
By following these steps, you are essentially gathering all the tools necessary to begin a claim against the company liable for the harm suffered. For more information on each of these steps as well as the importance of following these steps, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with our experts at your earliest convenience.
Suing and Recovering Compensation
Although recovering monetary compensation is not guaranteed, it is a possibility. Depending on the details surrounding your claim, you might have grounds to recover monetary compensation for the harm that your child suffered. There is no doubt that compensation cannot reverse the traumatic experience that your child (and your entire family) suffered; however, compensation can definitely help move past such a devastating time.
How much compensation could you be eligible to receive? What type of compensation could you be awarded? Depending on the details surrounding your claim, you and your family could recover compensation for at least some of the following:
- Medical bills
- Lost income
- Pain and suffering
- Property damage
- Loss of consortium
- Funeral/burial costs
- Punitive damages
- Legal fees
If you would like to learn more about the type and amount of compensation that you could be eligible to receive if your claim reaches a successful outcome, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with our experts at your earliest convenience. Our product liability lawyers are ready to aggressively fight for your right to recover the compensation that you and your family are owed. If you are ready to discuss your claim with our experts and learn more about the type and amount that you could be eligible to receive, do not hesitate to contact our defective product attorneys today.
The Statute of Limitations
Depending on the details surrounding your claim, you might have grounds to pursue a claim and possibly recover compensation. However, did you know that you could lose your right to sue even if your claim is perfectly valid. This is because all claims are subject to strict deadlines – established by a statute of limitations. A statute of limitations determines the time that claimants have to pursue their claims. If claims are not filed within the appropriate length of time, they will lose the right to sue along with the right to recover any sort of monetary compensation.
In California, product liability claims are usually subject to a two-year statute of limitations. This means that claimants only have two years to file their claims. However, it is important to note that certain exceptions could apply; these exceptions could toll the applicable deadline. For example, in cases where children were injured, the statute of limitations could be tolled until the victim becomes a legal adult. After turning eighteen or being legally emancipated, the statute of limitations will begin and the victim will be able to pursue a claim (that is, if parents did not already sue).
To learn more about the total length of time that you have to pursue your claim, do not hesitate to contact our law firm at your earliest convenience. Our lawyers are ready to help you file your claim on time.
Contact Normandie Law Firm Today
Was your child harmed as a result of the lack of child-resistant packaging on the Novartis medication? If so, you might have grounds to pursue a product liability claim against the company. You might have grounds to hold Novartis accountable for the harm that your child suffered. If you would like to learn more about your right to file a defective product claim against Novartis, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our law firm at your earliest convenience. Our lawyers are ready to provide you with all the guidance that you might need.
At our firm, our lawyers are dedicated to providing all victims of defective products with the representation necessary to take legal action against the companies that negligently make defective products available to consumers. Our firm is committed to making our legal services accessible to all victims; therefore, we offer free legal services. Our free legal services include free consultations and free second opinions. During our free consultations and free second opinions, our lawyers will be available to answer all your questions and address all your concerns – providing you with absolutely all the information that you might need to pursue your claim against the liable company. If you would like to benefit from our free legal services, do not hesitate to contact us as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, many victims of defective products never seek legal assistance because of the fear of expensive legal fees. At our firm, we offer a Zero-Fee guarantee which ensures that our clients never have to worry about paying any upfront legal fees for any of our legal services. Our firm is also strictly based on contingency; this means that our clients will not be required to pay anything until after reaching a successful claim outcome. If your claim is unsuccessful, you will not be responsible for paying any legal fees.
Would you like to discuss your claim with the experts at our firm? If so, do not hesitate to contact our firm at your earliest convenience – we are ready to fight for your rights.
