Posted on 12/29/2004 11:27:38 PM PST by freepatriot32
Dan Allen was diagnosed three years ago with a mysterious neurological disorder that put him in a wheelchair, suffering from headaches, nausea, dizziness and memory loss.
Among other medications, the former Holy Cross football coach was given Neurontin, an epilepsy treatment widely prescribed for everything from pain relief to insomnia to depression.
But Allen's widow, Laura, 49, uses different words to describe Neurontin:
``It was snake oil,'' she said yesterday in an exclusive interview with the Herald.
Allen will appear as a named complainant in a proposed class-action suit against Pfizer Inc., the manufacturer of Neurontin, the Herald has learned.
The suit is expected to be filed Monday in Suffolk Superior Court.
Brought on behalf of nearly 1,000 people statewide, the suit alleges that Pfizer broke the state's consumer-protection law.
``Pfizer basically sold a sugar pill, saying it was good medicine,'' said Robert Bonsignore, a local consumer activist and lawyer who will file the suit.
Pfizer spokesman Paul Fitzhenry acknowledged that the company is the target of a number of class-action complaints that mirror parts of a successful whistleblower case brought by the federal government.
Last May, Pfizer paid $240 million in criminal fines as part of a $430 million settlement for illegally promoting so-called ``off-label'' uses for Neurontin.
``These suits closely track those allegations,'' said Fitzhenry. ``We do not believe efforts to certify (them) as class-action are supported by the law. They hinge on the doctor-patient relationship.''
The whistleblower case was set off by a onetime medical liaison with Parke-Davis Inc., which was later acquired by Pfizer.
The company was found to have urged its medical liaisons, or salespeople, to provide doctors with misleading and even wrong information about Neurontin. The doctors, in turn, prescribed it for a host of ailments the drug hadn't been approved to treat.
By law, doctors can prescribe medicines for uses other than those approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. But drug companies can't promote those uses.
Dan Allen died at age 48 last May from multiple chemical sensitivity, which is thought to have been triggered by hazardous substances used in refinishing a gymnasium floor at Holy Cross.
Laura Allen, the mother of three, ages 11 to 19, sees the tragedy that befell her husband as a series of wrongs she is now trying to put right.
She has sued the contractors who refurbished the Worcester college's field house. Now Allen is adding her name to the suit against Pfizer.
``This is the beginning of a long string of things that need to be investigated,'' she said
Hell if he just buys a tube skirt and starts chewing gum on the corner he can complete the cycle
There are people in this country who are allergic to sunlight and even some allergic to water. Some people are going to have bad reactions to ANYTHING. These lawyers will pretty much have everything banned someday.
no no no you dont haveto worry about that you see in the elections of 1996 I think republicans in congress will become a majority and they have promised with thier contract with america that one of the first things they will do if that happens is pass TORT REFORM LAWS so just sit back and wait for the 1996 elections to come to a close then we wont have to worry about lawyers filing frivlous lawsuits day in and day out over some of the most retarded things imaginable
There are a hundred thousand or so people in this country who need these medicines because they cannot afford surgery. If the medicines go away because of lawsuits the OR's in this country will get jammed, and the feds will come in and take over the healthcare system. Even these Republicans would probably vote for that.
You don't have to be Nostradamus to see that Pfizer is to be shortly eviscerated. If we let bad science and emotionalism run amuck, who will create our medicines?
And, then, they will start banning people.
Soylent Green!!
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