October 21, 2016 — Lawyers for people who had kidney side effects from heartburn medications have asked federal judges to centralize the lawsuits in a Multi-District Litigation (MDL).
On October 17, a motion (PDF) to centralize the lawsuits was filed with the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML). Plaintiffs’ attorneys requested the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana for coordinated pretrial proceedings.
At least 15 lawsuits are filed in 10 federal courts nationwide. They all accuse drug-makers of failing to warn about kidney injuries from heartburn medications in the Proton-Pump Inhibitor (PPI) class. The injuries include acute interstitial nephritis, chronic kidney disease, kidney failure, and end-stage renal disease.
In December 2014, the label of all prescription PPIs were updated to include stronger warnings about nephritis. Lawyers say over-the-counter PPI labels still lack warnings about nephritis, and prescription PPIs still have no warnings about chronic kidney disease.
In January 2016, a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found a 20-50% increased risk of chronic kidney disease. In April 2015, a Canadian study of nearly 300,000 older adults associated the use of PPIs with a 2-3X increased risk of kidney injury and nephritis.
Heartburn drugs in the PPI class include:
- Aciphex (rabeprazole)
- Dexilant (dexlansoprazole)
- Nexium (esomeprazole)
- Prevacid (lansoprazole)
- Prilosec (omeprazole)
- Protonix (pantoprazole)
- Vimovo (naproxen / esomeprazole)
- Zegerid (omeprazole / sodium bicarbonate)
Do I have a Heartburn Medication Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting heartburn medication induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been diagnosed with kidney damage, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Defective Drug Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
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