Residents of Florida and elsewhere depend on drug companies to make safe, reliable and effective medications to treat their illnesses or symptoms. Unfortunately, not all medications are created safely. When a drug is contaminated or manufactured improperly, consumers can suffer greatly.
Recently, the Florida drug manufacturer PharmaTech LLC, has been hit with seven wrongful death lawsuits, after several batches of stool softener products reportedly caused adverse reactions or death in patients who were given the medication. The Sun Sentinel reported that some batches of the drug were found to be either “subpotent” or “superpotent,” resulting in overdose symptoms in at least one patient. Additionally, three infants died and others became seriously ill in separate cases. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration blamed the illnesses on water-borne bacteria that contaminated the batches of stool softener.
After the FDA discovered quality control deficiencies in PharmaTech’s manufacturing processes in 2016 and 2017, the pharmaceutical manufacturer vacated its facility in Davie, and authorities do not know if the company has resumed its operations in a different location. Sadly, any changes the company may have made to its processes came too late to avoid dozens of patients being affected in 45 states.
This example illustrates the importance of companies that manufacture medications and other products for public consumption to ensure their manufacturing processes are safe, especially when bacteria and other contaminants can sicken or kill consumers. Failure to do so may not only cause a serious health and safety risk, but can result in costly legal action being taken against the companies involved.
