There was a Duragesic Plaintiff's verdict in Houston, TX on Friday July 7, 2006. The jury awarded $772,000. The awarded was made to a 16 year old daughter of a woman who died passed away while on a duragesic pain patch.
Punitive damages were not awarded, as Texas tort reform requires the verdict to be unanimous to go on to the punitive phase. Given the facts as I know them, it was a good verdict. The deceased mother weighed over 300 pounds, and causation was hotly contested. Ms. Thompson, 42, died in 2004 while wearing a Duragesic patch to manage pain from injuries after a car accident. Plaintiff's counsel alleged that the deceased had ten time the amount of the therapeutic dose of fentanyl in her body when she died.
Tommy Fibich was counsel for Plaintiff.
