Cure an Infection, Rupture a Tendon

New York City, NYSometimes a drug cures one problem, only to cause another. That seems to be the case for some users of the popular antibiotics Cipro and Levaquin. Both Cipro and Levaquin are prescribed for a wide spectrum of bacterial problems, from bronchitis to urinary tract infections. Attorney Eric Chaffin from the law firm of Bernstein, Liebhard & Lifshitz in New York City is currently reviewing potential claims from people who have used one or both of the antibiotics then subsequently ruptured tendons or tendonitis.

Cipro and Levaquin belong to a class of antibiotics known as Fluoroquinolones. A number of different manufacturers sell Fluoroquinolones under a variety different names, including the generic drug name, Ciprofloxin.

The risk of tendon damage was included with a list of other possible side effects on Cipro and Levaquin packaging. Then three years ago, alarmed by an increasing number of tendon injuries related to the use of Levaquin and Cipro, an advocacy group known as Public Health forced the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to add a black box warning to the label—the most serious warning the FDA issues.

Cipro and Levaquin are prescribed for the following types of bacterial infections.

 Bronchitis
 pneumonia
 Chlamydia
 Urinary Tract Infections
 Skin infections
 Gonorrhea
 Prostate Infections

Levaquin can also be used to reduce the effects of exposure to Anthrax. It is the most powerful antibiotic currently available.

Tendons are tight bands of collagen fiber that connect muscle to bone. A ruptured or torn tendon is extremely painful and can be debilitating.

Attorney Eric Chaffin believes that the drugs may push active people over the edge. "If you are a runner or a fitness instructor," says Chaffin, "or a person who regularly pushes muscles and tendons to extremes, the addition of Cipro or Levaquin might be enough to cause damage."

"You may want to take it easy for a week or ten days after using these drugs," he says. "Many people who contacted us are runners. People who have been on the drugs are active and some of those people I think should have been warned that there is a hyper risk for them."

Lawsuits related to these drugs are just beginning to take shape. "The spontaneous tendon rupture cases are the ones we have focused on. Typically they have suffered a tendon rupture simultaneously or within days of taking the drug." says Chaffin. "We have a number of cases, and we believe there are many more out there."

Chaffin started his career working for a defense firm that represented Fortune 500 hundred companies. He recently joined Bernstein, Liebhard & Lifshitz because of a personal belief in the importance of defending consumers. "My father was an asbestos victim. He worked in a steel mill in West Virginia, so I feel strongly about representing consumers."

Eric Chaffin received his B.A from West Virginia University, graduating summa
cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He received his J.D. from Washington & Lee
University School of Law, graduating cum laude. Mr. Chaffin was also a lead attorney on a habeas corpus petition that resulted in the reversal of a death sentence for a Pennsylvania death row inmate..