Motion Filed to Consolidate West Virginia Digitek Lawsuits

Lawyers representing individuals who filed Digitek lawsuits in West Virginia state court alleging injuries caused by double strength digoxin tablets which were recalled earlier this year, have filed a motion to consolidate all of the lawsuits before one judge. According to the motion, lawyers estimate that there will likely be thousands of Digitek lawsuits filed in West Virginia state court.

The cases stem from a nationwide Digitek recall that was issued on April 25, 2008. All lots of the heart medication were recalled after it was discovered that some pills were commercially released that are twice as thick as they are supposed to be and contain double the appropriate amount of pharmaceutical ingredient. The double strength pills could lead to a serious and potentially fatal Digitek overdose, known as digitalis toxicity. Symptoms could include nausea, vomiting, dizziness, low blood pressure, cardiac instability, bradycardia or sudden death.

According to a report in the Charleston Gazette, the motion to consolidate was filed last Thursday with Judge Charles King, of the Kanawha Circuit Court in West Virginia. The motion indicates that the cases should be consolidated for purposes of judicial economy, to reduce the amount of discovery, avoid repetitive depositions, and prevent the need for multiple trials based on similar issues of fact.

In complex product liability cases such as this, which involve multiple claims for injuries arising from a particular product, it is common for lawsuits filed in federal courts to be consolidated during pre-trial proceedings through a process known as a Multi-district Litigation, or MDL. In those cases, all lawsuits filed in federal courts throughout the country are transferred to one judge for handling before trial. If the cases do not resolve during pre-trial proceedings, they are then returned back to the original jurisdictions for the actual trial.

It does not appear that any petition has been filed yet with the Judicial Panel on Multi-district Litigation to consolidate all federal lawsuits filed as a result of the digoxin recall, but Digitek lawyers expect that one will be filed soon.

West Virginia Digitek lawsuits are currently pending in state court against Actavis Totowa LLC, Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Byland Bertek Pharmaceuticals, UDL Laboratories, Inc. and Rite Aid Corp. Mylan, who distributed the defective pills throughout the country, is headquartered in Pennsylvania, but has most of its operations in Morgantown, West Virginia.