When people get sick, they believe over-the-counter drugs or those prescribed to them will help them to feel better. But many Ontario residents get sick from what they can buy off the shelf or are prescribed and as such may be entitled to compensation by launching a pharmaceutical liability case against the company who manufactures the drug. There have been many reports of people becoming sick from taking Tylenol 3 manufactured in Canada by Johnson & Johnson.
Canada has a growing opioid epidemic and Tylenol 3 contains codeine — an opioid — which can be highly addictive. In Ontario, deaths linked to opioids like codeine, morphine and oxycodone, have risen 242 per cent in the last two decades. And with that rise — and with evidence that Tylenol 3 has indeed caused injury to people — have come pharmaceutical liability lawsuits.
In many countries, it’s illegal to obtain codeine without a doctor’s prescription. That is the case in the United States. In New York, those living in border cities can hop over to Canada and buy over-the-counter products containing codeine without questions asked. As a matter of fact, the United States, Sweden and Germany have made the painkiller available only by prescription.
Tylenol 3 — or any codeine-based drug — is especially harmful to nursing mothers. They may pass the drug onto their child via breast milk. Even though Health Canada is looking into possible labelling changes to point out the potential risks to nursing mothers taking products with codeine, some still take Tylenol 3 while nursing not knowing the possible dangers it can cause their babies.
Canadians who have been injured due to a drug would be wise to consult a lawyer well-versed in pharmaceutical liability cases. A lawyer will know what steps to take in launching a possible claim. There is no need for victims to suffer in silence.
Source: the star.com, “Star investigation: Canada’s invisible codeine problem“, Jennifer Yang and Diana Zlomislic, Accessed on July 23, 2017
