TheraCare, HealthWise Lidocaine Products Fail to Provide Advertised Pain Relief, Class Action Alleges

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A proposed class action claims that certain over-the-counter lidocaine products made by Veridian Healthcare, LLC are falsely advertised in that the patches frequently peel off well before providing the 12 hours of pain relief.

The 25-page lawsuit alleges Veridian’s lidocaine products—including its TheraCare Pain Relief Lidocaine Patch, HealthWise Lidocaine Pain Relief Patch, HealthWise Lidocaine and Menthol Pain Relief Patch, TheraCare 4% Lidocaine Cream, TheraCare 4% Lidocaine and 1% Menthol Cream and TheraCare 24hr Lidocaine Patch—are sold to “unsuspecting consumers under false pretenses.” 

The case alleges Veridian has “take[n] advantage” of buyers by advertising the patches and creams as “Maximum Strength” and able to provide pain relief for 12 hours. In truth, however, the patches frequently peel off well before 12 hours, and sometimes within minutes of being applied, and none of the patches or creams are able to deliver the maximum amount of lidocaine available in over-the-counter or prescription products, the case attests.

The suit states that lidocaine, a topical anesthetic that treats pain by blocking the transmission of pain signals, can be administered through both patches and creams. According to the case, the defendant’s TheraCare- and HealthWise-branded patches are marketed as “Stay-Put Flexible” patches that “Last[] Up to 12 Hours” or as able to provide “12 Hr. Pain Relief,” depending on the product.

Despite these representations, however, the defendant’s lidocaine patches are not flexible enough to withstand regular activities such as walking, stretching and sleeping, and “systematically” fail to adhere to a wearer’s skin for the advertised 12 hours, the suit alleges.

Per the complaint, Veridian was well aware that its lidocaine patches fail to live up to their adhesiveness representations based on “hundreds” of online consumer complaints and scientific studies revealing that the adhesion technology used by the company and other lidocaine patch makers is “outdated and defective.”

“In complete disregard of the wealth of information to the contrary, however, Defendant continues to misrepresent that its Lidocaine Patches can provide pain relief to its consumers’ bodies for 12 hours when, in fact, they cannot, given their poor adhesion technology,” the complaint alleges.

The lawsuit goes on to argue that although the TheraCare and HealthWise lidocaine patches and creams are advertised as “Maximum Strength,” they fail to provide the same amount of lidocaine as competitor brands or other types of lidocaine products. As the suit tells it, an FDA “oversight” has allowed the defendant to label its lidocaine patches as containing four percent lidocaine even though differences in the size and thickness of the patches render this measurement a “useless metric” for determining how much lidocaine is actually administered to the wearer.

Moreover, the case claims the “Maximum Strength” representation on both the patches and creams is misleading given “dozens” of comparable items contain five-percent lidocaine, and some prescription-strength products contain up to seven percent of the anesthetic.

According to the suit, the defendant’s “arbitrary and patently false claim” regarding the strength of its pain-relieving lidocaine products has caused consumers to buy more of and pay more for the items than they otherwise would have.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the U.S. who purchased the Veridian Healthcare lidocaine products highlighted above.

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