• March 13, 2019
• CMZ Law
• no comments

Can you be compensated if you suffered from the serious side effects of a drug?

You are a type-2 diabetic and you need some help managing your symptoms. So, your doctor recommends a new drug that many of his patients have been having a good experience with. He tells you that there may be some side effects but you think to yourself “not me.” Think again! You start experiencing the symptoms of a blood disorder and having kidney problems and your doctor tells you it is from the medication you have been taking. What are your rights? Well, you can bring a lawsuit like a woman from Texas recently did after being seriously impacted by the new drug Invokana.

Invokana is a new type of diabetes drug that prevents some glucose from being absorbed into the body via the kidneys. The unabsorbed glucose is then released through in the urine. The woman began taking Invokana (canagliflozin) in October of 2013, shortly after it had been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and released onto the market. Soon after beginning the medication she claims that she became afflicted with diabetic ketoacidosis and serious kidney problems. After experiencing these symptoms she discontinued the use of the drug in November of 2013. 

She has since brought a lawsuit in a United States District Court in New Jersey. She named the drugs manufacturers, specifically Janssen Pharmaceuticals and their parent company, Johnson & Johnson, as defendants. She claims that the manufacturers should have been aware of the serious health risks associated with the drug and that they should have included appropriate warnings on the packaging.  It does seem like the manufacturers were aware of the possibility of the side effects after the FDA raised a concern about DKA. A report was also issued in 2014 regarding the kidney issues associated with the drug. The woman even goes as far to allege that she would have never used the drug if she knew of the possibility of these side effects. She is seeking $10 million in damages.

If you suffered personal injury as the result of the use of a defective drug or medical device, you should speak to an experienced Houston, Texas attorney today.