Forest Laboratories and Daiich Sankyo have been given two more weeks to respond to a recent motion filed to centralize all pending federal court Benicar GI lawsuits. Plaintiffs in these cases allege Benicar caused them to develop chronic diarrhea and intestinal damage, among other gastrointestinal complications.
Are You Experiencing GI Problems Caused by Benicar?
If you or someone you love took Benicar and suffered from diarrhea or other adverse complications and you feel that Benicar was to blame for the side effects, you may be entitled to participate in the growing litigation surrounding this drug. Among the adverse reactions allegedly associated with Benicar are:
- Gastrointestinal side effects
- Malnutrition
- Intestinal damage
- Chronic diarrhea
After a request was submitted on December 18, 2014 to consolidate all Benicar diarrhea claims into a multidistrict litigation (MDL), the drug manufacturers were initially supposed to file a response stating their position on the request for consolidation. However, Forest and Daiichi Sankyo filed a motion on December 24, requesting an extension due to the holidays. The request was granted by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on December 29, and gave the manufacturers until January 23, 2015 to file a response.
The motion for consolidation was filed by a plaintiff who sought to centralize cases before Judge Dan Aaron Polster in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. The aim of an MDL is to avoid conflicting rulings from different judges, reduce duplicative discovery, and to make the process more efficient for the courts, witnesses, and the parties involved.
Allegations in Benicar GI Lawsuits
At least 15 Benicar diarrhea claims have been filed in the U.S., and the number of lawsuits is expected to grow as personal injury attorneys review and file new lawsuits on behalf of individuals who have allegedly developed chronic diarrhea, weight loss, and other symptoms of sprue-like enteropathy. Allegations against the manufacturers claim the companies failed to adequately warn about the potential side effects and risks of Benicar.
In July 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required the drug makers to update the warning label on Benicar, to note that users of the blood pressure medication may be more likely to suffer from sprue-like enteropathy. Patients may face an increased risk of symptoms such as abdominal pain, chronic diarrhea, weight loss, and other gastrointestinal complications that can surface months or years after starting the medication.
While Benicar has been available in the U.S. for more than one decade, information about the potential intestinal problems caused by the drug was not widely known in the medical community until the FDA issued its warnings. Many former patients were reportedly still suffered from complications years after they had stopped taking the medication.
Some patients have required hospitalizations due to their symptoms, which many physicians misdiagnosed as unclassified sprue or Celiac disease while continuing to prescribe the medication, leaving patients with the risk of long-term intestinal damage known as villous atrophy.
GI Complications as a Result of Taking Benicar? Contact Attorney Group.
Attorney Group can help to answer your questions and help you decide whether you have a claim against the makers of Benicar. If we find you have a case, we can connect you with one of our affiliated attorneys who can file your Benicar diarrhea lawsuit on your behalf at no out-of-pocket cost to you. Depending on your condition, you may be entitled to recover monetary damages for lost wages, pain and suffering, and medical expenses. Contact Attorney Group to learn more about how you can participate in the Benicar litigation.
