Fentanyl Patch Design Defect Claims Not Preempted Under Bartlett, Wis. Federal Judge Rules

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Design defect claims brought against the makers of a fentanyl patch are not preempted because federal law did not prevent the drug makers from submitting a different design for the name brand patch, a Wisconsin federal judge has ruled.

On March 5, Judge William M. Conley of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin explained that before the Food and Drug Administration approved the patch, the drug makers could have employed a patch design that would control the release of fentanyl.

Teri Cassel died in 2009 while wearing two recently FDA-approved Duragesic Matrix Patches …