Three large pharmaceutical companies are facing multiple personal injury lawsuits from patients who used their medication Elmiron. The lawsuits claim the companies knew the medication could cause damage to patients’ eyesight.These victims were all prescribed the medication and later experienced serious damage to their vision. Examples include loss of night vision, optic neuritis and severe vision loss.
What is Elmiron used for?
Elmiron is a medication used to treat bladder issues. The drug is manufactured by Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.
The companies provided a warning that use of Elmiron could result in damage to vision. However, they claimed that less than 1% of patients experienced this dangerous side effect. Instead, nearly 25% of people who took the prescription have suffered serious damage to their vision. The victims say the pharmaceutical companies knew this and intentionally mislead the public.
How do lawsuits help injury victims?
Personal injury lawsuits like this can serve two goals. The first, to provide financial compensation to the victims. These funds can help cover expenses that result from the damage caused by using this medication. The second, to help keep other patients from suffering the same losses.
If the victims are successful, the court will likely require the pharmaceutical companies to provide them with financial compensation and change the paperwork that accompanies the medication to properly reflect the risk that comes with use of this prescription.
These types of claims are common. Those who have used this medication and suffered a similar injury may also be eligible for compensation.