Leg500 - Assignment 4

Assignment 4: PRODUCTS LIABILITY RESEARCH PAPER

Strayer University

LEG500 028VA016-1128-001: Law, Ethics & Corporate Governance, Fall 2012

December 16, 2012

PRODUCTS LIABILITY RESEARCH PAPER

1. Describe the company and the product safety issue that led to the lawsuit.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (“Teva”) is an international pharmaceutical company headquartered in Petah Tikva, Israel. It specializes in generic and proprietary pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients. It is the largest generic drug manufacturer in the world and one of the 15 largest pharmaceutical companies worldwide. Teva's facilities are located in Israel, North America, Europe, and South America. Teva is a member of both the New York Stock Exchange and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. (“Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.,” n.d.).

Teva was a defendant in product liability tort actions filed by hundreds of litigants in Nevada state court related to a Hepatitis C outbreak that occurred in Clark County, Nevada between December 2007 and January 2008. In these state court actions, the plaintiffs claim that they either contracted Hepatitis C, or had been unnecessarily exposed to the risk of contracting Hepatitis C, while being anesthetized during endoscopic procedures at clinics in Clark County, Nevada. At the time, Teva was the manufacturer of propofol, a short-acting hypnotic agent used in the induction and maintenance of anesthesia employed during these endoscopic procedures. The plaintiffs in the state court actions sued Teva under a theory of strict liability, claiming that they were exposed to hepatitis C when they were anesthetized using contaminated propofol vials, and that these vials were unsuitable for use at endoscopy clinics.

Propofol was “the single most used induction agent for general anesthesia in the U.S. and around the world.” (“Teva Abandons Propofol,” 2010). It was commonly used for...