Drug manufacturer Novartis triggered a sweeping recall of some of the company’s over-the-counter drugs due to manufacturing problems that may have led to powerful prescription drugs like Percocet being mixed in with common over-the-counter medications like Excedrin, Gas-X, NoDoz, and Bufferin.
The Novartis recall involves Excedrin and NoDoz made with the expiration dates of December 20, 2014 and Bufferin and Gas-X made with the expiration dates of December 20, 2013 or earlier, reports the Associated Press.
The company has received complaints of broken and chipped pills, and inconsistent bottle packaging that could cause pills to be mixed up, reports the AP. However, so far the company has not received any news of anyone being injured or hurt by the mix-up.
The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also chimed in and warned consumers, though it acknowledged that the odds of being affected by the mix-up were low. Still, consumers were told not to use these products and to contact Novartis for a refund.
Sadly, this is not the first problem with the Novartis manufacturing plant. Last summer, the company was cited for dozens of quality control problems including reviewing none of the 223 consumer complaints the company received.
Now subject to a nationwide recall, Novartis could find itself sued in a massive product liability lawsuit should anyone ingest the wrong pill. Novartis has a duty to ensure that its manufacturing process is safe, and mistakenly putting the wrong pills in the wrong bottles is certainly evidence of an unsafe manufacturing process.
The Novartis recall involves some of the most common drugs on the market. If you use these products, you should check the expiration dates on the bottles to ensure that you do not accidentally take the wrong medication.
Related Resources:
- Find a Chicago Personal Injury Attorney (FindLaw)
- FDA: Novartis recall may also affect painkillers (BusinessWeek)
- What is Product Liability? (FindLaw)
- Ask A Question about Personal Injury now (FindLaw Answers)
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