CVN News

Defense Openings in Chanin Hepatitis Trial

Written by msch | Apr 19, 2010 11:18:00 PM

Defense fired back in their opening statement in Chanin v. Desert Shadow Endoscopy Center. The plaintiffs alleged that drug companies Baxter and Teva supplied propofol containers that were defective because they were too large, thus encouraging the kind of multi-dose "double-dipping" that could foreseeably result in the spread of blood-born pathogens, such as the Hepatitis C infection that plaintiff Henry Chanin contracted at Desert Shadow Endoscopy.

According to Goodwin Proctor's Mark Tully, however, the Propofol worked as an anesthetic, exactly as it was supposed to work. The Propofol was not contaminated with Hepatitis. The Propofol did not cause any adverse side effects. Moreover, the small 10ml dose was manufactured through 2007, which was after the plaintiff's exposure, and it was only discontinued as a result of low demand from doctors.

According to the defense, there is nothing inherently defective in giving a doctor a choice as to which size to buy. 

CVN is webcasting the entire Chanin Endoscopy trial live, gavel-to-gavel.