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.
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING
Top Class Actions is a Proud Member of the American Bar Association
LEGAL INFORMATION IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE
Top Class Actions Legal Statement
©2008 – 2024 Top Class Actions® LLC
Various Trademarks held by their respective owners
This website is not intended for viewing or usage by European Union citizens.
1,807 thoughts onBravecto Class Action Says Meds Aren’t Safe For Pets
Lost my dog Fritz to Bravecto. Pull this off the market. Shame on you pharmaceutical companies. It’s been years of deaths – you know….
We lost our Daisy girl, 7/26/20. She got her second quarterly dose of Bravecto on Monday 7/17/20. On Tuesday, we noticed she was not acting like herself. Lethargic, deceased appetite and she would not eat her treats. By Thursday she was not eating at all. We made a trip to the vet on Friday. Bloodwork came back that her liver was “not functioning properly”. We were told she would need a sonogram and then they would do a biopsy. My son woke up at 630am on Wednesday and found our girl had passed away in her sleep. This drug is (edit, per Merck Legal) our fur babies. I’m sad but I’m even more mad! In my opinion, this company owes it to every loved pet to research this medicine.
You are absolutely correct! I am so very sorry that you lost your Daisygirl. I lost my Daisygirl last May 14th, and She was 16.years old. I blamed her previous vet. for starting her quick downward spiral the afternoon that his techs put an ear medicine by Bayer inside her ear, and while she was still on the table with several techs watching, Daisy shook her head, and some of the ear medicine flew into her eye. The ear medicine is supposed to be administered with the tech’s eyes protected with goggles, and, so was Daisy’s eyes. The medicine pamphlet clearly pointed out that Precaution because it can cause blindness in the dog’s eyes and the tech’s. Eyes if it touches their eyes. The tech. DIDN’T get any of the drops in hers, but unfortunately, Daisy DID. The tech’s did not know this could happen, and they did nothing to protect Daisy’s eyes in case that happened. They didn’t even try to rinse it out of her eyes, I found out later! That same afternoon when I picked her up I noticed that her eye was red and puss was coming out of it. I called the vet’s. Office & asked what happened to her eye! They all said “nothing”. I explained that her eye was clear when she went in, but now it’s looking very irritated & puss is coming out of it! They continued to deny anything happened. I looked up the pamphlet online for the medicine that ear medicine, and sure enough, THAT WAS the REASON for her sudden eye severe inflammation! I called the vet’s. Office back to speak with the vet. to say what I observed, and he also denied that there was anything his techs. had done. I had no recourse but to take her to an eye specialist which I did, and he recommended enucleation! I said NO we aren’t going to do that, and I brought her home continued to gently Rinse her eye again with warm saline solution & used warm & cool eye compresses on it to try to keep it cleaned out but she was still looking like it was hurting because she started going under our dining table to keep the light out of her eye. My trusted vet. not only made my Daisy girl suffer, but she lost most of her vision in it which was horrible! She had good vision in that eye before that. She had cataract surgery prior to that on both eyes by another top eye surgeon and that cataract was successfully removed which returned her sight in that eye. (Left) However, her cataract surgery done on her right eye was not. The surgeon said that when he touched it with the scalpel, the lens capsule shattered, which made her become totally blind! So, of course, there were many kinds of drops I had to give her many times a day for many months. Her eye did stabilize, and we just watched it to be sure that it wasn’t painful or bothering her. It was just “there”.She could see “Some” before the surgery, which made me sick since the surgery made her blind in that eye. An expensive test was even done by the eye surgeon 1 week before each eye was operated on to remove the cataracts. He said that she was a perfect candidate, and she would have almost if not perfect, eyesight after the surgery. (With a few days of special eye drops to make sure that no infection set in.) My heart was broken when the surgeon came out of the surgery to tell me that her left eye cataract was removed with no complications, but, her right eye would be blind now because he touched the lens capsule and it shattered & there was nothing that he could do to fix it. So, my whole point here is this. Do not just trust what doctors, pet food companies, pet pharmaceutical marketing people will tell you. Be VERY CAREFUL, be skeptical, and always go with your gut, as to what your pet needs! You may not be a veterinarian, or maybe you are, but don’t trust anything as “the truth” until you have checked “it” out from good multiple sources to make your decision as to what is best for your pet/best friend. I learned my lesson the hard way. I now READ,READ AND READ SOME MORE UNTIL YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’RE MAKING THE BEST DECISION FOR YOUR PET- NOT FOR THE PEOPLE WANTING YOUR MONEY. SOME ARE IN IT FOR THE RIGHT REASON OTHERS ARE NOT. FIND THE PEOPLE WHO ARE BEFORE YOU NEED THEM IN AN EMERGENCY. IWONT BE SUING ANYONE, BUT I WILL BE MUCH BETTER EDUCATED THAN I USED TO BE. I HOPE OTHER PETLOVERS WILL BE TOO.
My dog had Mast Cell cancer in remission for years. Had a vet check up where he told me she could live another 5 years! He then prescibed her Bravecto. She took it and less than a week later she has Mast cell cancer tumors all over her face and legs. There was nothing we could do except palative care and she died this week 6 months after her dose. Nothing else had changed in her diet or life. She was healthy and happy.
My 7.5 year old Rottweiler, Mia, had Bravecto for the first time a few weeks ago. Within 2 weeks, she had 2 seizures. It was horrible. We had taken her for a walk when she suddenly started almost crossing her legs and seemed zoned out, before she fell on her side and had a full-blown seizure. She has never had seizures or other neurological issues before. If Merck claims it can affect dogs with known issues, then surely that also means that it can affect those with no known issues, as they only come to light after consuming Bravecto – therefore causing them. Seeing my beloved dog that ill is incredibly distressing and I am hoping once it is out of her bloodstream, the issues go with it.
My vet suggested I use Brave to in my cat Izzy. I noticed it made her lethargic and her appetite changed. Several months later I gave her another dose. These were the only two doses I gave her. Within couple months after last dose her health has went steadily down hill. She is now blind and is in kidney failure and blood pressure issues. Before giving her this drug her health was great. I’ll never give this to another animal. Same vet gave this drug to my moms cat. Miss Kitty hasn’t been the same since. Her personality changed and she’s not the sweet cat she was. I pray this horrible Bravecto drug is removed from the market.
I treated my (would be almost 4 year old) GSD with Bravecto twice and she was I’ll each time. The last time she had a very bad reaction. She developed lameness in her hind end, lethargy and drastic weight loss. She had blood work done and found that her platelets weren’t forming and she was severely anemic. She had test after test and they couldn’t figure out what caused it as she was a healthy 70 pound dog who in December and was now 57 pounds. She ultimately suffered a brain bleed last month and did not make it. I believe that this all stems from this pill. The vet said that normally only gastric issues are a result of these types of medicines but after reading these comments; I am convinced it was this pills.
I gave my dog Onyx, a 125 pound German Shepard/Lab cross a Bravecto tablet on June 1, 2020. Over the next two months he lost 20 pounds. Two weeks ago he started circling, became ataxic and vomited. I rushed him to an emergency clinic and showed them a video of his back legs side-stepping and nearly falling over. They said it looked like neurological issues and were concerned about a brain tumor. They referred him to a neurologist three hours away. $6,000 later, after chemistry profiles, ultrasound, MRI and spinal tap, nothing was found to be wrong with him. On his discharge papers the neurologist highlighted in yellow to stop giving him Bravecto.
Our black lab has had continuing symptoms starting almost immediately after consuming Bravecto. Neither the vet or the insert warned about these side effects. Our lab is now losing control of his hind legs.
I gave this to my 2.5 year old Airedale first time ever., He was perfectly healthy. In 10 weeks of taking it, he has had 3 seizures, blood tests came back normal and now may have to put him on anti seizure medications. I live in fear every day for my fur baby. I wish I was told of these potential side effects as I would never have given this toxic medication to my dog. I dont know if he will have them for life :(
Please add me
I gave this to my 2.5 year old Airedale first time ever., He was perfectly healthy. In 10 weeks of taking it, he has had 3 seizures, blood tests came back normal and now may have to put him on anti seizure medications. I live in fear every day for my fur baby. I wish I was told of these potential side effects as I would never have given this toxic medication to my dog. I dont know if he will have them for life :(