Fighting producers of dangerous drugs and medical devices: Drugwatcher now an Enjuris partner
The Food and Drug Administration is the gatekeeper, to keep potentially dangerous drugs out of the chain of distribution. They have rigorous testing procedures, endless levels of quality control and strict demands of any products that land in their proverbial hands.
However, sometimes products get onto the market that we simply have not studied for a long enough time, and they end up hurting people.
When this happens to you, it’s hard to know where to go or who to turn to, because these pharmaceutical and medical device companies are gargantuan. Fighting them is like fighting Godzilla.
Who can help you in a situation like that?
What is Drugwatcher?
Drugwatcher was created to help people like you. It follows the pharmaceutical and medical device industries in order to warn individuals about developments and to help those who have been affected by dangerous products.
Lawsuits over dangerous drugs
Drugwatcher is currently on the lookout for pharmaceutical class-action lawsuits. You have probably heard the commercials (“If you or a loved one has taken Risperdal, contact our law office for a risk-free assessment of your case!”). That’s why if you have taken Risperdal, you probably want to perk up and take a look. There are a good number of drugs on the website that have evolved into monstrous federal multi-district lawsuits:
- Risperdal: Also known as Risperidone, this is an antipsychotic used to treat schizophrenia and the manic symptoms of bipolar disorder. Johnson and Johnson was fined $2.2 billion for illegal marketing practices.
- Testosterone therapy: Federal multi-district litigation has been established in Illinois because of low-testosterone replacement therapy in men that caused heart attacks and other heart-related events.
- Geodon: The makers of Geodon were fined for promoting the off-label use of the drug for several conditions, including depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, dementia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and mood disorder. Meanwhile, it was originally intended for schizophrenia and the manic symptoms of bipolar disorder.
- Talcum powder: Women who used talcum powder for perineal hygiene were at a greater risk of developing ovarian cancer.
- Nexium: This is used to treat the symptoms of gastrointestinal reflux disease. However, this over-the-counter medication also caused kidney damage, fractures and dementia.
- Depakote: This medication was used to treat migraines, manic episodes of bipolar disorder and seizure disorders, but it also caused birth defects when taken by pregnant women.
- Xarelto: This is a blood thinner. Side effects include spinal hematomas, strokes, heart attacks, brain bleeding and death.
- Zoloft: This antidepressant was prescribed to women, though pregnant women did not know it caused birth defects.
- Actos: Originally this type 2 diabetes medication was supposed to replace another on the market, but its side effects of bladder cancer, heart failure and other problems quickly stopped that.
Big Pharma sometimes has big legal problems. The courts are still catching up, and these settlements are in the millions and billions of dollars. See why.
Medical device lawsuits
Drugwatcher doesn’t just watch out for potentially life-threatening drugs; they also watch out for medical devices like the following:
- IVC Filter: This device kept blood clots from reaching vital organs. Too bad they broke apart inside the body and migrated to other locations.
- Bladder sling: These are used to treat stress urinary incontinence. Problems include excessive bleeding, revisional surgeries, bladder injuries and more.
- Transvaginal Mesh: There are more than 60 thousand cases that have been combined into federal multi-district litigation for this type of product, which helps to support the pelvic or vaginal organs when they have been damaged.
- Essure: A form of sterilization for women, this was touted as a safe and effective procedure that ended up causing excessive bleeding, unintended pregnancies, perforations in the fallopian tubes and even death.
- GranuFlo: This, along with NaturaLyte, is used for kidney dialysis. Patients began to suffer from heart problems after using the product.
- Hernia Mesh: This product, intended to reinforce weak areas of the body, was allowed onto the market using the FDA’s fast-track 510(k) clearance program. Not a good idea if it’s going inside somebody’s body.
- Stryker Hip Recall: These hip implants actually caused metal toxicity and had to be removed and recalled. The revisionary surgery is very traumatic, as a hip implant is drilled in deep and can cause fractures when removed.
- Effexor: This was the very first SNRI antidepressant on the market. It also caused potentially life-threatening birth defects in children.
Stay up to date on dangerous drugs and lawsuits
If you or a loved one has been affected by a drug or medical device and you don’t know where to turn, DrugWatcher is a great place to begin accessing information. Looks for updates on when class action cases hand down rulings or new litigation starts up.