The Benicar MDL is growing, with more than 200 lawsuits alleging the blood pressure drug caused serious gastrointestinal side effects. Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. received FDA approval  for commercial sale of the drug in April 2002. Since then it has become the most widely prescribed blood pressure medication in the country.

Benicar is designed to block angiotension II, allowing a patient’s blood vessels to expand, reducing blood pressure. However, there have been serious injuries associated with the drug.

Some patients who took the hypertension drug report developing serious Benicar side effects such as chronic diarrhea, sprue-like enteropathy or villous atrophy, for which many patients were hospitalized.

Benicar MDL

In instances when multiple plaintiffs file lawsuits in federal courts based on similar claims against a common defendant, they are often consolidated before one judge in what is known as a multidistrict litigation (MDL). This helps to serve the convenience of attorneys, witnesses, and other parties likely to be involved in more than one case, and it also helps prevent duplicative discovery and contradicting rulings from different judges.

In the Benicar MDL, the plaintiffs all similarly allege that drug manufacturers Forest Laboratories and Daiichi Sankyo failed to warn of the potential for serious Benicar side effects including sprue-like enteropathy and chronic diarrhea. The Benicar MDL was established in April and is centralized in the District of New Jersey before U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler.

Judge Approves Benicar Plaintiff Fact Sheet

On July 17, a joint report was filed in preparation for an upcoming status conference, and the defendants state that they received 205 Benicar lawsuit complaints.

After the status conference on July 21, Judge Kugler approved a Plaintiff Fact Sheet. Each plaintiff will complete a 38-page questionnaire with basic information regarding the details of their Benicar lawsuit, such as the dates they used the drug, the name of the prescribing physician, family history, and other information which may be relevant to the Benicar lawsuit they have filed.

Benicar Bellwether Trials

Coordinated discovery is underway in the Benicar MDL which will likely be followed by a series of bellwether trials. Bellwether trials are a small number of cases selected because they represent a greater number of claims in an MDL.

Attorneys can often use bellwether trials to learn about potential jury responses to witnesses and evidence which will be used in other cases. Additionally, results from bellwether trials are sometimes helpful in reaching settlement agreements before remaining claims in an MDL go before a jury.

Benicar Lawsuits

In addition to the growing number of federal Benicar lawsuits included in this MDL, there are also at least 59 Benicar lawsuits pending at the state level in New Jersey. Like the claims in the MDL, these lawsuits were filed based on allegations that patients suffered the effects of sprue-like enteropathy, including chronic diarrhea and rapid weight loss, as a result of Benicar side effects they were not sufficiently warned about.

Many Benicar sprue-like enteropathy sufferers were misdiagnosed with celiac disease because this Benicar side effect was not made known, so their suffering was prolonged and, in some cases, led to permanent intestinal damage.

If you or someone you love was diagnosed with celiac disease or sprue-like enteropathy after using Benicar, you may be eligible to join a Benicar lawsuit to obtain compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering and other damages.