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Pharmaceutical Company Sued Over Pain Patch Death

The family of a late Utah woman has sued pharmaceutical company ALZA Corp., claiming it made a faulty pain-relief patch that caused her death.

LOGAN, Utah (AP) -- The family of a late Hyde Park woman has sued a pharmaceutical company, claiming it made a faulty pain-relief patch that caused her death.

Logan's Herald Journal reports (http://bit.ly/vZ9Ix2 ) the family of Janine Ward filed the lawsuit Monday in 3rd District Court against the ALZA Corp. of Vacaville, Calif.

The complaint says Ward died in May 2010 after a transdermal patch leaked dangerous doses of the painkiller fentanyl.

Toxicology reports showed she had a lethal level of fentanyl in her blood when she died.

ALZA is owned by Johnson & Johnson, which issued a statement Sunday extending its sympathy to her husband, Preston, over the death.

The company says the patch is a safe and effective treatment for chronic pain, but has benefits and risks like all prescription medications.