Plaintiffs Continue to Advance Benicar Lawsuits, Alleging Defective Product

Port Arthur, TXAnyone who dismisses the seriousness of the sprue-like enteropathy associated with use of hypertension drug Benicar, need only reference the number of Benicar Lawsuits currently on the books on behalf of various plaintiffs: as of March 1 of this year no fewer than 1,242 complaints. Sixty-seven of those cases are housed within multi-district litigation in New Jersey (MDL 2606).

And while Benicar bellwether trials won’t happen until next year, it is expected that Benicar cases will increase in number over time, given the high propensity for hypertension (high blood pressure) amongst the American population.

There is little doubt that as a means for controlling high blood pressure, Benicar (olmesartan) does its job well. But in so doing, there are Benicar side effects that are unique to olmesartan but do not appear in other hypertension medications.

To that end, a growing number of hypertension patients appear to be experiencing Benicar illness and weight loss due to sprue-like enteropathy, a nasty gastro-intestinal condition characterized by chronic diarrhea, dehydration and weight loss. Beyond tying patients to the bathroom, the condition has left many Benicar users in hospital, and their families in the courts of law advancing Benicar lawsuits.

One such lawsuit was filed by plaintiff Allen Williamson. The Texas man, who hails from Port Arthur, was prescribed Benicar by his doctor for high blood pressure. Within a short while Williamson began experiencing severe Benicar side effects and gastrointestinal complications that left him nauseated and vomiting, complicated by chronic diarrhea and severe weight loss, malnutrition, dehydration and acute renal failure (end-stage renal disease, or ESRD).

Williamson and his wife Kathryn allege negligence in association with Benicar defective products. The couple filed their defective products lawsuit earlier this month in Jefferson County District Court, Case No. B-198699. Named defendants are Daiichi Sankyo, and Forest Laboratories, together with the physician who prescribed olmesartan to Williamson. They filed their lawsuit on July 7 of this year.

An earlier Benicar lawsuit was filed by plaintiff Susan Moore against various divisions of Daiichi Sankyo and Forest on April 19 of this year (Case No. 1:2016-cv-02202 in New Jersey District Court).

In other Benicar news, a federal judge in New Jersey on July 27 released 79 plaintiffs in a Benicar lawsuit against Daiichi Sankyo and Forest to move their lawsuit back to state court in Missouri - with an option to refile - as the New Jersey court did not have jurisdiction over their claims.

Meanwhile, it was reported earlier this month that the first of 10 bellwether Benicar lawsuits will be delayed until next year, as preparations for the bellwether trial remain ongoing. Pundits will be watching the outcome of that trial - when it finally happens - with interest, given that Benicar is in a class of drugs known as angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARB). According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), sprue-like enteropathy has not been linked with other ARB medications, and remains unique to olmesartan.