Merck Animal Health has been hit with a class action lawsuit by consumers who claim that their dog and cat drug Bravecto contains a pesticide that is harmful to pets.
Bravecto tablets and topical medications are used on both cats and dogs, and are marketed as a way to prevent ticks and fleas for up to three months.
Plaintiff Valerie Palmieri says she paid just under $50 for one Bravecto chewable tablet to treat her 78 pound German Shepherd Jake for fleas and ticks.
After taking the pill, Jake started to vomit, did not eat, and began to show symptoms of lethargy, according to the Bravecto class action lawsuit. The plaintiff reportedly took Jake to the emergency animal clinic after the dog was no longer able to walk.
Palmieri claims that she contacted Merck to talk about Jake’s possible adverse reaction to taking the drug. The company allegedly denied that that Jake’s sickness was caused by Bravecto but offered to pay for the emergency room visit.
However, the company would only pay if she signed an agreement which would release any claims against the company, according to the Bravecto class action lawsuit.
The plaintiff states that she refused to release her claims as she wasn’t sure if Jake’s symptoms would be long-term and was still not sure if her dog’s symptoms were caused by the drug.
After more tests and a trip to a neurologist, the plaintiff’s veterinarian allegedly told her that he “presumed” that Jake’s diagnosis of meningitis was a result of “Bravecto toxicity,” which was contrary to what she was told by the defendant.
Since he ingested the drug, Jake has continued to have neurological episodes, according to the Bravecto class action lawsuit. In September of this year, he reportedly fell down a flight of stairs and broke his leg. The plaintiff claims that she has spent “tens of thousands of dollars” treating Jake after he ingested Bravecto.
Palmieri says that when she purchased the tablet, the packaging and materials enclosed therein did not state that neurological adverse reactions were possible when taking the pill. In addition, the defendant allegedly did not tell veterinarians about the possible safety issues that the drug posed to pets.
“Because Defendant failed to disclose the risks of Bravecto to consumers and misrepresented the safety of Bravecto, consumers would be reasonable in purchasing Bravecto to treat their pets in a safe manner,” the class action lawsuit notes.
The Bravecto class action lawsuit also states that in September 2018, the FDA issued an alert about the possible neurological events that are associated with medicines like Bravecto to treat fleas and ticks.
The FDA has subsequently asked manufacturers to change their labels to “highlight neurological events because these events were seen consistently across the isoxazoline class of products” and “to provide veterinarians and pet owners with the information they need to make treatment decisions for each pet on an individual basis,” according to the Bravecto class action lawsuit.
The plaintiff states that the defendant now discloses that there may be some neurological reactions to taking Bravecto, including tremors, ataxia, and seizures.
“Every consumer who purchased Bravecto without being informed of the true facts about its health and safety risks prior to purchase was injured at the point of sale when, instead of obtaining a safe flea and tick medication, they obtained Defendant’s unreasonably dangerous and defective product,” the Bravecto class action lawsuit states.
Did you purchase Bravecto for your pet? Leave a message in the comments section below.
The plaintiff is represented by Mark A. Dicello, Adam J. Levitt, and Amy E. Keller of DiCello Levitt and Gutzler LLC and Jessica J. Sleater and Ralph N. Sianni of Andersen Sleater Sianni LLC.
The Bravecto Class Action Lawsuit is Valerie Palmieri v. Intervet Inc., et. al, Case No. 2:19-cv-22024, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
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1,807 thoughts onBravecto Class Action Says Meds Aren’t Safe For Pets
My cat was a healthy fit energetic 16-year-old girl. The first couple times we used Bravecto she was sick but she got over it. She’s had healthy blood work and examinations. This third time we used it she got very ill. She was fine the day before we put it on her, the very day we put it on her she started vomiting and not eating or drinking. We then get her an ultrasound and it showed that she had cancer In all her organs. If she had the cancer, did this bring her over the edge where she finally Got so sick and died? Or, because of her good reports from all the past doctor visits, did this stuff GIVE her cancer? They said it was a very aggressive fast acting cancer. Did this happen during the time we gave her Bravecto?
My mini schnauzer, Tanner, I believe is poisoned with Bravecto. He had FCE two weeks ago. His back hind leg was numb and he has problems walking now. I got Bravecto and gave it to him. Now he is vomiting, and has runny stools. I didnt know for sure if it was from his FCE, but now I know it wasn’t. He seemed to be making progress in walking, but now I’m worried after reading all this about Bravecto. He is lethargic, not well at all. I am mad at the vet for not warning me about this and advising that I should wait before giving him a new leucine because he had FCE.
I had a cat that passed approximately 2 yrs ago @ 18 yrs old. a year to 2 yrs Prior to his passing, I had given him Bravecto. Approximately a week later he started having seizures continuously. Upon taken him back to the vet, I was then told that seizures were a possible side affect from the bravecto on which I did not read in the paperwork. They then had to put him on a anti seizure medication to try and control the seizures which never happened. Poor buddy had to live with the seizures the last 2 yrs of his life when he lived 16 yrs with no health issues. And to deny the facts put in front of them until proven just proves this industry is all about the profits & not the well being of our beloved companions/family members!
We recently rescued a dog from our cities’ animal shelter. He is a golden retriever mix breed. We took him to the veterinarian for a check-up & the vet wrote a prescription for Bravecto for flea/tick control. The vet wrote the prescription for a year(4 dosages). I filled the prescription for the full year supply at the local Costco pharmacy. I gave the dog his first dose & within 24 hours, he had terrible diarrhea & would not eat. I knew it had something to do with the Bravecto, but did some research to verify my suspicions. Sure enough, these were two of the many side effects of the medication. During my research, I learned that a class action lawsuit had been filed against Merck as a result of other pet owners who had terrible outcomes from using this drug on their pets. In my opinion, this drug should be taken off the market. I went to the Merck website to let them know my concerns. Merck did not respond to two attempts to reach them.
We gave our Chief Bravecto, two days later he started vomiting and fell down. Had seizure like symptoms. He went from 15.5 pounds down to 11.5! In two weeks! I still have the other tablet we were going to give his brother Major. I have the box they both came in.
Chief has had severe diarrhea and has been to the vet four times and over two thousand dollars in vet payments to save his life.
It has only been a month since we gave it to him. He has stopped eating, but still drinking. He has eaten the same dog food for years. Have never had a serious problem.
The only difference in his brother Major and Chief, Chief took the bravecto. Major did not. Major is not ill. Chief is still holding on. His body has been poisoned by this product!
We gave our dog Bravecto once last year and she didn’t feel well for the day after. She also had loose stools/diarrhea for a day. I didn’t like that so I switched to another (topical) flea treatment for the next few months to cover until colder weather. This past spring (March 2020) she was scratching and for whatever reason, I decided to give Bravecto oral again and I’m absolutely kicking myself. She was not herself for a couple weeks: lethargic and she just didn’t get excited at the same things as she did before. The issue that has been going on since then has been her loose/soft stools; initially they were almost diarrhea and slimy. Now they are just soft and very narrow and sometimes slimy (she’s a 65+ lb dog so her stools should not look like a 15 lb dog’s.). I’ve been trying to feed her probiotics and more fiber to get them back to normal but nothing has helped. I will never use Bravecto in ANY form. Nor will I use any oral flea “medicine” ever again.
We gave our healthy, 6y.o. GSD Bravecto. He has since developed pancreatitis. The first attack in June 2017, landed him at Med Vet for 4 days. He nearly died. Since then, he has several bouts of it; just had another really bad attack yesterday.
We have our 12 year old border collie Bravecto for the first time in April 2020, we then had to take her in to the vet in May 2020, she developed , vomiting, diarrhea, panting and extreme thirst, tremors in her face and down spine into legs, big weight loss to the point she looks almost emaciated, lost her appetite and would not eat much at all, hair falling out in chunks with most of hair on tail gone, lethargic just wanting to lay around and sleep a lot. She was healthy weight with great appetite and with a full coat of hair before. At the vet visit, lab work was done and it showed no other issue such as disease etc…but did show renal impairment which we are now having secondary testing done to look at again, she has never had any kidney issues.
The 3 month mark has now come up since Bravecto was given, and in last few weeks, up until today, her appetite is coming back. She now is able to eat without vomiting afterwards but I fear that the kidney issues may be permanent and she is still losing hair and does not have quite the energy and life she did before. It literally just dawned on me that this Bravecto is what’s most likely to be the cause of all these issues and nothing else has changed except for us giving her this med for the first time ever 3 months ago, so I called the vet today to address this. Do not give your pet this medicine, a 3 month dose at one time has planned put to be dangerous for our dog and caused multiple issues. We would like to be part of this class action suit, as we were told it was safe to administer with no real issues after the vet did not have simparica, which we used before with no issue, so they pushed Bravecto on us because they didn’t carry our old med.
My dog Luna had a siezure about 30 days ago. I immediately took her in to be examined by a veterinarian that was able to see her as an emergency. It was my wife and I first experience so we didn’t know anything about it, and were only aware that it was a siezure. The Vet collected blood samples and provided us with a medication to help prevent siezures. The lab results indicated that Luna had liver inflammation. The Veterinarian explained to us that the cuase of siezures was still unknown, but after reviewing her history he found that she was on Bravecto. Thats when we were informed that it is a medicine known to cause siezures. We were advised to report it and file a complaint with the Texas Veterinary Board. I don’t think complaining about it will help Luna get healthy again, nor do I think it will lead us to recovering the over $800.00 in costs we initially spent or any future costs we will probably end up spending, but I do hope that it leads to a change in the recommendations Veterinarians give when suggesting flea and tick control. This side effect should be advertised in large letters directly on the box similar to how cigarette boxes warn about cancer, and Veterinians should include ” may cuase siezures” in the explanation when suggesting it for pet care.
I had given my Maltipoo this med, as prescribed by my vet. And yes, he said it was safe. Time passed and the last med was given over a yr ago. Then he started with seizures. They are horrible for anyone to see!! So now, he’s on anti-seizure meds, for life. He also developed liver cancer. My vet ALWAYS said it was safe…it’s not!! Did everyone notice that they (Bravecto) started putting a warning on the label? But alot of damage has been done already. It’s a strong pesticide and it stays in their system long afterwards what they recommend…every 3 months?? I do blame them for my pets illness.
After 48 hours since we gave Bravecto to our dog she started throwing up and bleeding internally. We immediately took her to the Vet and she was hospitalized for days. Luckily our baby girl lived but I don’t want to see anyone else go through this horrible nightmare.