Attorney Says Johnson & Johnson Hid Levaquin Side Effects

Minneapolis, MNJohnson & Johnson allegedly knew of Levaquin side effects, including the increased risk of tendon damage, and did not properly warn doctors or patients, a lawyer said at the start of a recent trial in Minnesota.

span itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="display:block">According to Bloomberg, 82-year-old John Schedin sued the company and its Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceutical unit in 2008, claiming he ruptured his Achilles tendon in both feet after he took the drug.

The companies reportedly downplayed the risks of the drug even after they received some worrisome reports from Europe in 2001, according to Schedin's lawyer.

"The decision they made was to add a single line to the 14-page package insert somewhere on page four or five," the attorney told the Minneapolis jury recently. "They did not tell the doctors that the use of Levaquin concomitant with corticosteroids will cause an Achilles tendon to rupture."

Schedin's case is the first trial to take place out of more than 2,600 claims made in US courts against Johnson & Johnson regarding the tendon damage side effect of Levaquin. In 2008, the FDA required an upgraded warning on the risk caused by Levaquin and other similar drugs, according to the news source.