WHEELING — A woman and her husband are suing several drug companies and laboratories they claim are responsible for injuries she incurred in utero due to exposure to a specific drug.
Jan Hayslett and Chad Hayslett filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia at Wheeling.
The Abbott Laboratories, Burroughs-Wellcome & Co., Carnick Laboratories, Dart Industries, Eli Lilly & Company, Kremers-Urban Co., Lannett Co., McNeilab, Mallinckrodt, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck & Co, Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Pharmaceuticals, Rowell Laboratories, E.R. Squibb & Sons and The Upjohn Company were all named as defendants in the suit.
Jan Hayslett was exposed to diethylstilbestrol (DES) in utero, which caused her to suffer clear cell adenocarcinoma of the cervix and uterus, according to the suit.
She claims DES was portrayed as safe to prevent miscarriages and accidents during pregnancy when in reality, it wasn't.
Jan Hayslett's mother ingested DES while pregnant with her and caused her to suffer serious, permanent and personal injuries, which has precluded Jan Hayslett from having a normal life.
The defendants knew or should have known the drug was not safe for the purposes it was marketed and that reckless disregard caused Jan Hayslett injuries, according to the suit.
Jan Hayslett claims DES was unsafe, defective and inherently dangerous.
Neither Jan Hayslett or her mother could have discovered the defects and/or the perceived danger, according to the suit.
The defendants failed to exercise ordinary care in creating, designing, researching, manufacturing, marketing, supplying, promoting, labeling, advertising, packaging, selling, testing, quality assurance, quality control and/or distributing DES into commerce and should have been aware of the high risk of injury when exposed, according to the suit.
Jan Hayslett and her husband are seeking compensatory and punitive damages. They are represented by Harry G. Deitzler of Hill Peterson Carper Bee & Deitzler; and Michael A. London and Virginia E. Anello of Douglas & London.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia Case number: 5:18-cv-00186