Duragesic Pain Patch: "I Just Want Answers"

La Porte, INA major problem with the Duragesic Pain Patches is that many of the patients who are given the patches have health problems, so it is difficult to know if their injuries were caused by the patch or by those health problems. Julius T. says his mother died only a couple of days after being put on the Duragesic patch. Now, he is left wondering if she died before it was her time.

"When my mother passed, I didn't think anything about it because she had a stroke about a month before," Julius says. "But I thought she was coming back around. The next thing you know, I got a call saying my mom had passed. I was surprised but I didn't question it until I saw news about the bad patch of Duragesic pain patches."

Julius says his mother was given the Duragesic patch because she had contracted MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), a serious infection. MRSA had affected her throat, making it difficult for her to swallow and very painful for her to eat. Medical staff evidently thought that the Duragesic pain patch would relieve her pain and allow her to eat properly again.

Julius spoke to his mother once after she was given the Duragesic patch. He says she seemed different on the phone. "She always had time to talk to me," Julius said. "Usually, we'd talk for so long that I had to get off the phone for other things. But that day we talked for maybe 15 minutes. She gave the nurse the phone and the nurse told me that my mom wanted to have a nap and I should call back later. It wasn't like my mom. That was something that makes me wonder if she was already overdosing at that point.

"Before that, I thought she was doing better. When she was at the hospital after the stroke it was kind of touch and go. She had some bleeding in the brain and we were told it would cause some memory loss. She was clearly getting people confused. But then she started remember people. Things were coming back to her and her speech was improving. The only thing was the MRSA, which was the one thing that seemed to be keeping her down."

Julius says his mother died only two days after being given the Duragesic pain patch. The official cause of death was heart attack. Although he says he did not think there was anything unusual about his mother's death when it occurred, Julius now wonders if she could have lived longer had she not been given the patch.

"We are just trying to get answers," Julius says. "If she died of natural causes, then so be it. But to go because of malfunction of the patch? -- I just don't think that's right. It seemed like it wasn't her time to go."

People whose loved ones have died or suffered serious injury after being given the Duragesic Pain Patch are now investigating a possible lawsuit against the maker of the patch. They allege that defective patches caused serious side effects, including fentanyl overdose. If the Duragesic Pain Patch harmed you or someone you love, contact a lawyer to discuss your legal options.