More Lawsuits Over Levaquin Tendon Rupture

Madison County, ILThe propensity for Levaquin to foster Levaquin tendon problems continues to trigger lawsuits that allege not only issues with Levaquin side effects, but also the alleged suppressing of warnings over Levaquin tendon ruptures by the manufacturer.

Earlier this month it was announced that four civil lawsuits have been filed against Johnson & Johnson and Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Inc. A third defendant, Walgreen Co. has been named in relation to its role as vendor of the powerful antibiotic.

The lawsuits allege that the manufacturers of Levaquin promoted the antibiotic as a safe and effective treatment for lung, sinus, skin and urinary tract infections. However, according to yesterday's issue of Pharma Investments, Ventures & Law Weekly the suits claim that Johnson & Johnson and Ortho McNeil knew for a period of years that Levaquin was a cause for tendonitis and severe tendon rupture at rates higher than those seen with other antibiotics.

The lawsuits also claim that the manufacturers manipulated study data and downplayed the risks to physicians.

Levaquin Tendon Rupture Could Last Far Longer Than the Infection it Fights

Levaquin is a member of the fluoroquinolone family of antibiotics. Known generically as levofloxacin, the drug is a potent antibiotic. However the side effects have derailed the lives and livelihoods of more than a few persons who continue to struggle with the after effects of Levaquin well beyond stopping the drug.

The lawsuits assert that the makers of Levaquin "buried" warnings for tendon injury and cites the current labeling as inadequate in its capacity to properly alert physicians and prescribing health care professionals that Levaquin is more toxic to tendons than other fluoroquinolones available in the US.

The lawsuits assert state law claims against Johnson & Johnson and Ortho-McNeil of strict liability, negligence, breach of express and implied warranties, violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act and unjust enrichment. Against the Walgreen Co., the suits assert claims of failure to warn and negligence.

Three of four lawsuits put forward September 2nd on behalf of 20 plaintiffs were filed in the Third Judicial Court of Madison County, Illinois. A fourth was filed with the Twentieth Judicial Circuit in St. Clair County, Illinois. Lawyers have stated there are as many as 1200 potential claims.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was goaded into mandating a label change for Levaquin after the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen filed a federal lawsuit against the FDA.

The official Levaquin website notes the risk for tendon problems increases in for those over 60, persons taking corticosteroid drugs and in patients with kidney, heart, or lung transplants.