News
Drug lawsuit gets go-ahead
Dad "trying to give dignity" to daughter's death
Terence Young says his "wonderful" 15-year-old daughter didn't die in vain.
After more than six years of fighting in court, a class action lawsuit has become certified by The Ontario Superior Court of Justice. This means that there can now be a trial.
Young's daughter Vanessa collapsed in her Oakville home while talking to her dad in March 2000, after taking the drug Prepulsid for bloating.
In April 2001 a coroner's jury determined Vanessa died of a heart arrhythmia caused in part by cisapride toxicity, and made 59 recommendations to prevent similar deaths including clear safety warnings on drug labels and mandatory adverse reaction reporting for health care professionals.
"I've been trying to give some dignity to Vanessa's loss. She was a wonderful, beautiful girl with lots of friends," said Young, who initiated the class action lawsuit in memory of his daughter.
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"The trial will help warn other people of the risks of prescription drugs. This class action lawsuit is the only way to expose inadequacies in the regulatory drug system," said Young, a former Tory MPP who founded and became the president of Drug Safety Canada.
"The only way pharmaceutical companies will change is to get risky drugs off the market sooner and if they face victims acting together in court and there's financial risk associated," he added.
Janssen Ortho is the manufacturer of the medication Prepulsid, which is also known as Propulsid. The medication was prescribed for treatment of acid reflux. Janssen Pharmaceutica joined the Johnson & Johnson group in 1961.
In the six years since Canadian litigation has been tied up with procedural motions and appeals brought by Johnson & Johnson, 16,000 victims in the U.S. have already filed, fought and settled claims with Johnson & Johnson for Prepulsid, Young said.
Prepulsid is now banned in Canada, but it's still being used in countries worldwide.