A Greenville woman who says she suffered a stroke from taking cold medicine five years ago filed a lawsuit Monday against the drug’s manufacturer and the pharmacy that sold it to her.
Sarah Taylor filed the suit Monday in the Greenville County Court of Common Pleas against GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare and CVS Pharmacy, Inc.
Officials from both GlaxoSmithKline and CVS declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The suit focuses on the drug Phenylpropanolamine, also known as PPA.The lawsuit says that Taylor bought BC Cold Powder and Contac 12-Hour Cold Capsules from CVS in the fall of 1998.
It alleges that she suffered a hemorrhagic stroke shortly afterward and is permanently disabled. It alleges that CVS failed to remove products containing PPA without warning customers about the risk of hermorrhagic stroke associated with its use.
The lawsuit alleges that for the last 30 years, the over-the-counter pharmaceutical industry has been aware, or should have been aware of reports associating PPA products with hemorrhagic stroke.
As of November 2000, labels on the products containing PPA never contained a warning about the risk of stroke, the suit alleges.
The suit accuses the defendants of negligence, failure to warn, unfair trade practices and fraud.
The suit asks a jury for general damages, medical expenses, loss of earnings, compensatory damages, punitive damages and attorneys’ fees.
