The fastest growing category of personal injury cases is for serious injuries suffered from dangerous prescription drugs. These lawsuits are based on the manufacturer’s practices and actions before or after pre-market approval or licensing of the product, which include but are not limited to its withholding from or misrepresenting to the FDA required information that was material and relevant to the performance of the product and was causally related to the claimant’s injury, and/or before or after pre-market approval or licensing of the product, the manufacturer engaged in conduct that would caused the warnings or instructions approved for the product by the FDA to be inadequate.

Prescription Drugs

Avandia: Avandia is an anti-diabetic agent used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus. The drug works to control blood sugar levels and reduces circulating insulin levels. Avandia has been linked to several (sometimes life threatening) health problems including congestive heart failure, edema, and anemia. The drug has also been linked to increased weight gain.

Bextra: An anti-inflammatory drug used to treat patients suffering from severe pain associated with osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and primary dysmenorrhea. Bextra’s action on the body is similar to Vioxx, which has been recalled. Bextra warning concerns have been raised regarding the cardiovascular safety of taking the drug because of the similarities to Vioxx.

Chantix: Chantix (generic name: varenicline) is a smoking cessation medication produced by Pfizer that was approved by the FDA in May of 2006. It is a partial nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist and is designed to partially activate this system while displacing nicotine at its sites of action in the brain.

Celebrex: A Cox-2 inhibitor originally approved for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. The drug was later approved as a treatment aimed at reducing the number of intestinal polyps in patients with familial adenotamous polyposis. There are now concerns that Celebrex usage may increase the risk of heart attack or strokes in some people. The FDA has allowed Celebrex to remain on the market, but as of 4/7/05, the label must include a black box warning of the risk of cardiovascular and gastrointestinal risks.

Fosamax: Doctors prescribe Fosamax to treat osteoprosis in men and women. The drug increases bone mass and reduces the risk of fractures in postmenopausal women. However, indications of risk have been linked to Fosamax. In a number Fosamax users, there have been occurrences of a rare, serious disorder, called osteonecrosis, or ''death of the jaw,'' which causes bone deterioration in the jaw and teeth.

Gadolinium: Gadolinium is an contrast agent used in MRIs that give a greater contrast between normal and abnormal tissue in the body and brain. Gadolinium is injected into the vein and causes abnormal areas to appear very bright on the MRI. In recent years Gadolinium based agents have been linked to serious kidney disease. Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis and Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy are both new kidney diseases that have affected patients that have received MRIs using Gadolinium based contrast agents.

Hormone Replacement Therapy: Hormone Replacement Therapy drugs are used to treat postmenopausal side-effects in women. HRT drugs such as Prempro have been linked to severe side-effects such as breast cancer, ovarian cancer, blood clots, stroke and heart attacks. In 2001 over 22 million prescriptions for Prempro were written to treat postmenopausal side-effects women.

Ketek: Ketek is an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections, pneumonia, and chronic bronchial infections. Ketek is manufactured by Sanofi-Aventis and has been prescribed to more than six million people in the United States since it’s FDA approval in 2004. The drug was soon found to have serious side-effects after reports of liver toxicity in patients was linked to the use of Ketek. In addition, the drug has been found to cause other forms of liver damage including reports of liver failure.

Kugel Mesh Patch: The Kugel Mesh Patch is a device used in repairing ventral hernias that are caused by thinning scar tissue that is formed after surgery. The patch is inserted behind the hernia and held open by a memory recoil ring which then springs open after insertion, allowing the patch to lay flat. A 2006 recall of the Kugel Mesh Patch was due to instances of the memory recoil ring breaking, at times leading to bowel perforations and chronic intestinal fistulae.

Zelnorm: Zelnorm is prescribed to women for the short-term treatment of irritable bowel syndrome and constipation. It is also prescribed to women under the age of 65 for chronic constipation. Clinical trials have shown Zelnorm to cause adverse cardiovascular side-effects such as angina, heart attacks and stroke. The drug was taken off the U.S. market in March of 2007.

Risperdal: Risperdal is an atypical antipsychotic medication. Approved by the FDA in 1993, the drug is most often used to treat delusional psychosis, including schizophrenia. Like other atypical antipsychotics, it is also used to treat forms of bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, psychotic depression and Tourette syndrome. Lower dosages of Risperdal are used in the treatment of autism. The FDA has asked manufacturers to include a warning statement describing the increased risk of hyperglycemia and diabetes, including possible or hyperosmolar coma or death.

Seroquel: Seroquel or Quetiapine has the United States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of schizophrenia and acute mania in bipolar disorder. The drug is also used off-label to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, autism, alcoholism, hallucinations in Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome and a sedative for patients with sleep or anxiety disorders. Dangerous side effects of Seroquel include diabetes or pancreatitis and in some cases side effects have resulted in death.

Prempro: Prescribed as hormone replacement therapy for women during menopause. Studies have shown that Prempro usage poses a significant health risk that dramatically increases risk of blood clots, heart attack, stroke, breast cancer.

Vioxx: Used as a treatment for osteoarthritis, menstrual pain and acute pain management of acute pain in adults. Merck voluntarily recalled Vioxx in 2004 after research findings indicated patients taking Vioxx for eighteen months double their risk of suffering from a serious heart attack or stroke.

Zyprexa: Used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and other psychological conditions, such as Alzheimer’s and types of dementia. The drug is also prescribed ''off label'' by doctors who feel the drug’s use may prove beneficial to patients for purposes other than those evaluated and approved by the FDA. In 2004 the FDA issued a warning that risk of diabetes, hypoglycemia, pancreatitis, stroke, coma and death are associated with Zyprexa.

Despite intense testing prior to FDA approval, the way many drugs work in the body is not entirely understood. What is known, however, is that hazardous side effects of numerous pharmaceuticals may cause you or your loved one harm or possible death.

If you are taking prescription drugs and have reason to suspect you have suffered adverse effects, it is important to discuss your concerns with a qualified personal injury lawyer.

At Bailey & Galyen, our attorneys have decades of experience, dealing with individual and mass tort pharmaceutical negligence cases. We are committed to protecting your rights and will aggressively pursue the maximum compensation to which you are entitled by law.

To learn more about the legal remedies available to you or someone you love, call our office today at 800-529-8008 to arrange a free initial consultation or click here to have a Bailey & Galyen representative contact you. There are no fees or costs for our legal services unless we recovery damages on your behalf.

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