Dangerous Drug Mislabeling Leads to Class Action

2 min read

Strokes and heart attacks are among the leading killers in the United States and can also have a substantial impact on a surviving victim. Thankfully, medications such as clopidogrel—commonly referred to by the brand name Plavix—can provide relief by preventing blood clots that lead to strokes, heart attacks, and other vascular symptoms.

Unfortunately, a major pharmaceutical packaging company, Florida-based International Laboratories, LLC, mislabeled and sold an entire batch of pill bottles allegedly containing clopidogrel, when they instead contained simvastatin, a cholesterol medication commonly known as Zocor or FloLipid. The batch contained 218,772 pill bottles with 30 pills each distributed to consumers in every state in the nation.

In January 2019, the Poppe Law Firm^® filed a class action claim in federal court in Pikeville, Kentucky on behalf of consumers across America who were misled into purchasing and consuming the mislabeled pill bottles. The class action alleges a breach of warranty, unjust enrichment, and consumer protection act violations against International Packaging and its parent company, New Jersey-based Quality Packaging Specialists International, LLC.

The goal of the class action is to provide reimbursement to consumers who paid for and received the improperly labeled pill bottles and did not receive reimbursement. Importantly, while International Packaging offered a reimbursement as part of a recall on the mislabeled pill bottles, the reimbursement was only available to people who could return the medication. For many consumers who take Plavix daily, it was impossible to return their medications because they were already consumed.

Additionally, some consumers may suffer severe effects from not receiving their anti-clotting medications, including strokes or a heart attack. Scientific studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that suddenly stopping Plavix nearly doubles the risk of a heart attack. Increases in strokes have also been observed, even after only missing medication for just 30 days.

If you or a loved one improperly received a mislabeled bottle of clopidogrel, or if you or a loved one has suffered a stroke or heart attack from receiving a mislabeled pill bottle, please contact us at the Poppe Law Firm^®.