National Coordination of Digitek Claims

Judge Joseph R. Goodwin, a federal judge in Charleston, West Virginia, has been selected to oversee pre-trial coordination of the Digitek litigation.  Judge Goodwin will hold the first hearing to begin the ambitious process of organizing the discovery and pre-trial procedures for all of the Digitek claims on October 10, 2008, in Charleston.

Digitek, also known as digitalis or digoxin, is a prescription drug that was recalled from the market in April of 2008 by manufacturers Actavis Totowa, LLC; Actavis, Inc.; Actavis US; Mylan, Inc.; Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Mylan Laboratories, Inc.; Mylan Bertek Pharmaceuticals; and UDL Laboratories, Inc.

Currently, more than 50 lawsuits have been filed against these manufacturers alleging personal injuries and wrongful deaths associated with a manufacturing defect in the recalled Digitek pills which led to excessive doses of the cardiac medication.  Digitek is prescribed to patients who have heart rhythm abnormalities such as atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, and heart failure.  Patients who ingest excessive doses of the medication may experience visual changes, palpitations, irregular pulse, cold sweats, and other signs of digitalis toxicity, a potentially fatal adverse reaction.