Houston, TXDerrick was first getting testosterone injections for low-t count but he didn’t like them so his doctor prescribed AndroGel. Now Derrick and likely thousands of other men are concerned about the latest testosterone litigation development: Pfizer, the maker of Depo-Testosterone injection, is seeking to have the proposed testosterone multidistrict litigation regarding cardiovascular injuries limited to claims involving testosterone drugs sold in gel form only.
Last year Derrick was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, which is cause for concern - he is only 46 years old. And when he recently discovered the association with testosterone therapy and heart issues, Derrick filed a testosterone claim.
“My doctor told me about three years ago that I had low t-cells so he started giving me depo-testosterone shots but I didn’t like how they made me feel so I switched to AndroGel,” Derrick says.
“My usual symptoms were anger and rage immediately after getting the injections but I soon found out that my biggest problem was my heart.
“I wound up in ER and it was pretty scary. Even though I was told this kind of heart problem is common, I am worried about any further damage caused by testosterone.” (Atrial fibrillation is the most common type of arrhythmia - it is a problem with the rate or rhythm of the heartbeat. During an arrhythmia, the heart can beat too fast, too slow or with an irregular rhythm.)
Derrick says he didn’t have any heart issues before getting the injections or the testosterone gel, but his dad died of a heart attack at the age of 59. And Derrick used to drink - a lot. “When the doctor diagnosed me with A-fib, he just wrote it off to alcoholism, and that is when I quit drinking,” says Derrick. “But he didn’t tell me to stop taking AndroGel; I don’t think doctors knew about testosterone heart problems back then.
“I stopped using AndroGel after I saw the TV commercials and then I went online and read more information about it. There are probably thousands of men here in Houston alone taking testosterone drugs. Stores in mini-malls have signs outside reading ‘Low t-cells? We can test you today and inject you.’ I never went into one of those stores because my doctor prescribed it, but maybe I would have…
“I realize that the testosterone manufacturers are marketing their drug to just about anyone regardless whether they need it or not. I am pissed off knowing they put my health at risk for their profit. And now I am worried about this litigation issue: if you can’t file a testosterone injection claim, can you file a claim if you used both injection and gel?”
Derrick is seeing his doctor next week to discuss whether testosterone therapy risk outweighs the benefits, especially because he is so young. And he is hopeful that an attorney can answer his testosterone lawsuit question.
Meanwhile, a testosterone lawsuit was filed in Pennsylvania court of Common Pleas (May 8, 2014) alleging that a testosterone gel led to heart attack. Plaintiffs Demetric Taylor and his wife contend that Fortesta gel is an unnecessary drug pushed commercially to treat a disease that does not exist. Taylor said in the complaint that he and his physician had relied on the drugmaker’s claims that low testosterone was a disease that needed to be treated when opting to take the drug.
Testosterone lawsuits involving both gel such as AndroGel and injections such as Depo-Testosterone have been mounting since the beginning of the year. In March, AndroGel plaintiffs filed a brief to have cases consolidated in a multidistrict litigation (MDL) and transferred to the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, for coordinated pretrial proceedings.
AndroGel, Axiron and Foresta plaintiffs then filed responses calling for the consolidation of all testosterone treatment lawsuits in that proposed MDL, regardless of the drug used.
Pfizer is asking (March 28, 2014) that the proposed MDL be limited to claims involving testosterone gels, such as AndroGel, Testim, Axiron and Foresta. Pfizer pointed out that it has only been named in four out of 85 testosterone lawsuits currently pending in federal courts, and argued that there are important differences between those claims and cases involving the other medications. (In Re: AndroGel Product Liability Litigation No. 2545, JPML).
Stay tuned, LawyersandSettlements will discuss this issue with testosterone attorney in a few weeks…
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