Several companies involved in the production and distribution of a popular antibiotic known as Levaquin have been named in additional lawsuits filed in September. The companies, Johnson and Johnson, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development and Walgreens, have all been named as defendants in what is steadily becoming one of the more prominent cases against a pharmaceutical manufacturer and distributor. Almost all of the cases allege that Johnson and Johnson et al deliberately misled the public through dubious research and misleading statistics, creating a false sense of safety for patients taking and medical professionals prescribing the medication. The misleading evidence seems to minimize the possibility of a severe Levaquin side effect: the possibility for tendon rupture and damaging tendon-related problems.
Fifteen additional lawsuits were filed on September 2, 2009, by residents of Illinois, alleging severe tendon problems. All cases further state that while taking Levaquin, they were unaware of the serious risk of tendon injuries, including rupture, and as a result suffered serious and lasting tendon injuries. These claims are almost identical to other lawsuits filed against Johnson and Johnson et al., with essentially the same allegations. In fact, litigation regarding Levaquin is nothing new for the companies, though the scope of this most recent surge may be a unique experience for them.
When Levaquin was first introduced, the risk of tendon rupture was listed as one of the many side effects. However, the risk was seemingly downplayed among a litany of other potential side effects. Yet, the risk of serious and debilitating tendon injuries while taking Levaquin was significantly higher for the average patient and nearly triple that of other antibiotics in the fluoroquinolone family in people over 60. In what appears to be one of the more potentially damaging pieces of evidence, Levaquin was touted as having an excellent safety rating and as being one of the safest antibiotics on the market. This appears to be a deliberate and intentional cover-up of an extremely serious health concern.
Though Levaquin has been under intense scrutiny lately, this is also nothing new. Since 2001, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been issuing increasingly more insistent warnings on the drug, requiring stronger and stronger labeling and mandatory informational packets explaining the risk of serious tendon side effects, such as tendon rupture. In 2008, the FDA finally required that Levaquin carry the black box warning, the most serious warning label the FDA can require a drug to carry. Oftentimes, individuals who have experienced a Levaquin-related tendon rupture are left severly disabled as a result. Oftentimes, these patients pursue a Levaquin lawsuit to seek monetary compensation to cover medical treatments and other life necessities.
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