Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, were hit with an Invokana lawsuit by a woman who says that the diabetes drug caused her irreparable damages.

According to the Invokana lawsuit, plaintiff Luana C. of Alabama developed Invokana ketoacidosis as a direct result of the type-2 diabetes medication. Luana was prescribed Invokana in December 2014 to help manager her type-2 diabetes symptoms.

Luana had opted for Invokana to reduce the levels of her blood-glucose. However, it was not long after Luana had been prescribed Invokana, that she developed severe complications that ultimately made her condition worse.

According to her Invokana lawsuit, Luana developed ketoacidosis, which makes her unable to produce insulin. Luana states that she developed this injury, as a direct result of Janssen’s failure to warn her of the drug’s side effects.

Luana claims in her Invokana lawsuit that if she had known about the risk of ketoacidosis, then she never would have taken the drug. At no point in time was she or her physician warned of Invokana ketoacidosis, nor was it stated on the drug’s warning label.

Luana claims that the company’s willful or negligent failure of providing adequate warnings, had resulted in her developing the permanent complication. Due to this condition, Luana’s life is permanently altered and will need to take a variety of new medications to adjust to the additional symptoms.

The charges in Luana’s Invokana lawsuit include: negligence, false advertising, concealing information, and misrepresenting a product.

Overview of Invokana Ketoacidosis Complications

Invokana is one of Johnson & Johnson’s best selling medications, with sales totaling $278 million in the first quarter of 2015 alone.

The drug was first approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in March 2013, to be a treatment option for patients with type-2 diabetes. Invokana is apart of the sodium-glucose contransporter two (SGLT2) inhibitor drug class and is the first drug in its class to receive FDA approval.

SGLT2 inhibitors are designed to inhibit renal glucose reabsorption, which ultimately lowers blood glucose levels. This prevents excess glucose from being metabolized, which is then ejected from the body through urination.

Ideally, this medication would allow patients live healthy and active lifestyles, yet the number of Invokana ketoacidosis complaints have caused major concern. As mentioned before, ketoacidosis occurs when the body becomes unable to produce insulin.

This hormone is vital in converting food and nutrients into energy from the body, along with being an important role in the patient’s metabolism. According to the FDA adverse event database, Invokana patients are several times more likely to develop ketoacidosis that taking diabetes drugs from different drug classes.

Despite allegedly knowing of this risk, Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries allegedly chose to omit this information from Invokana’s warning label. Patients who developed this condition, may be eligible for an Invokana lawsuit and should consult an attorney.

This Invokana Lawsuit is Case No. 1:15-cv-00636, in the U.S. District Court of Southern Alabama, Southern Division.