One of the largest manufacturers of generic drugs, Teva Pharmaceuticals, was recently accused of placing profit ahead of the safety of colonoscopy patients using their anesthetic, Propofol.
Teva, along with its distrutors, Baxter International and McKesson Corporation, are being sued for marketing and selling Propofol in jumbo-sized vials, knowing that doctors would possibly reuse the containers, which would inevitably increase the spread of blood-borne diseases like hepatitis.
Following an outbreak of hepatitis C, which was linked to the reuse of contaminated vials of Propofol sold by Teva, the company now faces approximately 300 lawsuits in Nevada courts. In fact, in the first Propofol case against Teva, a Las Vegas jury awarded the plaintiff more than $5 million in compensatory damages and $500 million in punitive damages.
