Benicar Settlement Attorney
Benicar (olmesartan medoxomil) maker Daiichi Sankyo Inc. and Forest Laboratories Inc. have agreed to pay $300 million to settle claims that the drug caused gastrointestinal injuries. You may be eligible for compensation under this settlement offer, but you must be sign up with a Benicar attorney by August 23, 2017 to qualify under the terms of the settlement. If you believe that you have a Benicar claim, please contact the law firm of Panzavecchia & Associates, PLLC immediately so you don’t miss out on this opportunity for compensation.
Benicar
Benicar is used to treat high blood pressure in adults and in children six years old and older. It is an angiotensin II receptor antagonist and works by preventing blood vessels from narrowing. It is used alone or in combination with other blood pressure medications.
Benicar Injuries
Benicar can cause a life-threatening gastrointestinal disorder called sprue-like enteropathy. The connection between the drug and the symptoms it causes often goes undetected because it can take months or years of Benicar use to develop sprue-like enteropathy, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). When symptoms do develop, the condition is often misdiagnosed as Celiac disease, and continue taking the medication.
Symptoms of sprue-like enteropathy include:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Chronic diarrhea
- Abdominal pain
- Bloating
- Dehydration
- Fatigue
- Anemia
- Rapid weight loss
- Severe malnutrition
Permanent Injuries
Benicar can cause villous atrophy. This is erosion of the villi that line the intestinal walls, so that the intestines cannot properly absorb nutrients, resulting in malnutrition. Although the gastrointestinal symptoms typically subside when Benicar use stops, injuries can be permanent. Benicar can cause malnutrition so severe that it is life-threatening and can cause irreversible damage to your health.
Studies Link Benicar to Gastrointestinal Harm
Several studies have linked Benicar to gastrointestinal harm.
In 2012, the Mayo Clinic studied 22 Benicar users who were initially diagnosed with Celiac disease, but did not respond to treatment. gluten exposed causes villous atrophy in people with Celiac. When the patients were tested for Celiac, it turned out that they did not have the disease. When they stopped taking the drug their symptoms subsided.
Later that year, the American College of Gastroenterology found 40 cases of sprue-like enteropathy in users of olmesartan-based blood pressure medications.
The American Journal of Gastroenterology published a study in 2013, in which researcher found that olmesartan users who had chronic diarrhea but tested negative for Celiac suffered from villous atrophy that improved when they stopped taking the drug.
If you have been harmed by Benicar, act now before this narrow window of opportunity closes. Please call the New York pharmaceutical injury attorneys of The Law Firm of Panzavecchia & Associates, PLLC at 1-888-LAW-2204 or submit an online questionnaire right away.