Elmiron is a drug treatment for interstitial cystitis, also known as painful bladder syndrome. The drug promises relief for those suffering from urinary urgency and chronic pain from bladder pressure or pelvic pain.
But the drug’s manufacturer, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, is now facing lawsuits because many patients who took the drug are now suffering vision damage, including blindness.
Individuals who took Elmiron and are now suffering vision and eye problems should learn more about litigation surrounding the drug and discuss their case with an Indiana product liability attorney as soon as possible.
About the Elmiron Lawsuits
Patients began filing lawsuits against Janssen Pharmaceuticals in December 2020. In less than a year, there were nearly 500 pending cases all related to people who took the drug and suffered retinal damage.
The lawsuits allege that Janssen Pharmaceuticals knew of the risk of vision problems for people who took the drug but failed to warn doctors and patients of that potential side effect.
Drug warnings help doctors and patients make informed decisions about the risk and reward of potential treatment options for conditions or ailments. So when a drug manufacturer or marketer fails to make those side effects known, it impacts the patient’s ability to make that informed decision.
All litigation concerning Elmiron is still pending and has been consolidated into multidistrict litigation in New Jersey since there are so many cases. This is different from a class-action lawsuit because each victim maintains their own attorney and has the opportunity to name a separate settlement amount instead of splitting a class action settlement with other victims.
Examples of Elmiron Lawsuit Claims
Valarie Hull was the first to file a lawsuit against Janssen and other drug manufacturers of Elmiron. Valarie took part in a study at Emory Eye Care in 2018 and found that her loss of night vision, severe vision degradation, alteration of eye color pigment, and pigment maculopathy were due to her long-term use of Elmiron. Valerie is referred to as “patient zero” because her lawsuit was the first.
Jeanette Milburn took Elmiron from 2007 to 2019 to treat bladder pain. By 2016, Jeanette was suffering from flashes of light in her right eye. When she went to the doctor, she learned she had a retinal hemorrhage and macular degeneration. She filed her lawsuit against Elmiron in January 2021.
Kimberly Pelczar began taking Elmiron in 2005. By 2015, she began suffering eye problems and started seeking medical treatment for those ailments. In 2019, her medical providers diagnosed her with permanent retinal injury and vision loss due to Elmiron toxicity.
Eye Injuries and Ailments Elmiron Lawsuits Allege
If you took Elmiron and are now suffering from eye injuries or ailments, you should discuss your case with an attorney. Some examples of injuries and ailments the Elmiron lawsuits name include:
- Blurred vision
- Degenerative maculopathy
- Halo vision
- Macular retinopathy
- Macular/pattern dystrophy
- Maculopathy
- Metamorphopsia
- Pigmentary maculopathy
- Reduced night vision
- Retinal pigment epithelium atrophy
- Retinopathy
- Scotoma
- Unilateral or bilateral blindness
- Vision impairment
- Vision loss
If you have not sought medical treatment for vision ailments yet, you should do this as soon as possible. There may be treatment options for reducing the impacts of your vision problems to avoid blindness or more severe vision problems.
Indiana Lawyers With Decades of Experience in Product Liability
When meeting with your attorney, you should share details about when you took Elmiron, the injuries you’re experiencing, when those injuries began, how your injuries are impacting your life, family history of vision problems, the prognosis for vision problems, etc.
Patients who took Elmiron and now suffer retinal damage should discuss the matter with an attorney. The Elmiron multidistrict litigation could begin as early as the beginning of 2023.
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