A Mississippi woman is the latest to join the growing number of Benicar lawsuits consolidated into a multidistrict litigation in New Jersey.

Plaintiff Chunda C. filed a Benicar lawsuit against manufacturers Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. and Forest Pharamceuticals, Inc. alleging negligent misrepresentation and fraudulent concealment of severe Benicar side effects.

The Benicar lawsuit alleges that the blood pressure medication caused Chunda to suffer from severe gastrointestinal injuries and kidney failure. The plaintiff claims that the drug manufacturer failed to warn of the potentially life-threatening injuries linked to Benicar.

According to the lawsuit, Chunda experienced multiple Benicar complications including villous atrophy, sprue-like enteropathy, malnutrition, dehydration, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, and abdominal pain. The plaintiff is seeking punitive damages for the personal injuries she has endured as well as economic loss.

Benicar Risks

Benicar was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2002 for the treatment of high blood pressure. However, it didn’t take long before the federal agency began receiving reports from Benicar consumers alleging the medication caused serious side effects including the medical condition referred to as sprue-like enteropathy, commonly known as chronic diarrhea.

Sprue-like enteropathy and villous atrophy occur when the intestinal lining is damaged and often requires hospitalization. Benicar patients who develop the gastrointestinal side effects claim it can take anywhere from a few months to a few years to develop the condition.

This has reportedly made it difficult for patients and physicians to connect Benicar to the medical condition. Often, Benicar patients who develop chronic diarrhea are misdiagnosed with having celiac disease.

In 2013, the FDA required Benicar manufacturers to include a “sprue-like enteropathy” warning on the drug label after receiving numerous consumer reports of the chronic diarrhea side effects of Benicar. The agency claims that olmesartan-containing drugs like Benicar are the only known blood pressure medications linked to sprue-like enteropathy.

Benicar Lawsuits

Benicar patients claim that once they discontinue using the blood pressure medication, the chronic diarrhea and other gastrointestinal side effects generally cease. However, those filing Benicar lawsuits allege that just because diarrhea symptoms end does not mean that permanent damage including villous atrophy hasn’t occurred.

In general, Benicar lawsuits claim that plaintiffs were not fully warned of the severe side effects and would not have taken the blood pressure medication had they been made aware.

Often, filing a Benicar lawsuit is the only way to be financial compensated for the medical bills as well as the pain and suffering associated with sprue-like enteropathy and villous atrophy.

Benicar lawsuits that name spouses as co-plaintiffs can sue for loss of consortium which typically results in a higher award amount.

If you experienced chronic diarrhea after taking Benicar or other Olmesartan products, contact a Benicar attorney to find out if you have legal claim.

The Benicar Lawsuit is In re: Benicar (Olmesartan) Products Liability Litigation, Case No. 1:15-cv-05922-RBK-JS in MDL No. 2606, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Camden Vicinage.