Darvocet Heart Problems: Causation and Litigation

A significant number of Darvon, Darvocet, and other propoxyphene drug-related lawsuits were launched after the Food and Drug Administration’s recall and subsequent ban of propoxyphene products in recent months. Heart problems are one of the most important reasons for the ban of the once-popular painkiller, and heart conditions such as arrhythmia and cardiac arrest make up a significant portion of the Darvocet lawsuits.


Many lawsuits are already deeply entangled in the litigation process, but most will not be decided until the issue of causation is worked out completely. General and specific causation, in a legal context, are very different and can make or break a case for a plaintiff. General causation means that the drug, in this case propoxyphene, is capable of causing a specified side effect, such as heart arrhythmia. Specific causation states that the drug is the direct cause of the side effect, with no other factors.

Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals, the makers of Darvocet and Darvon, will likely only be liable in cases in which specific causation can be proven. Patients whose heart injury may have been instigated by some other cause will not have as strong a case as those who were otherwise healthy when they began experiencing side effects of Darvocet, thereby eliminating or greatly reducing the chance that certain side effects were brought on by other factors.
Specific causation may also be complicated by perceived risk factors such as high cholesterol, pre-existing heart conditions in a patient, obesity, duration, and dosage of propoxyphene. In these cases, it could be argued that Darvocet caused the heart trauma – but it could also be argued that any of these other factors could have caused it, as well. There is no medical way of determining exactly what, in this case, was the cause of a patient’s symptoms.

Plaintiffs that can prove specific causation in their Darvocet cases, however, have a significant chance at a substantial settlement from the drugmaker. Victims suffering from the adverse side effects of Darvocet are highly advised to contact an experienced Darvocet lawyer as soon as possible.