Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals is being accused of knowing the side effect of irreversible peripheral neuropathy was not as rare as their literature led doctors and patients to believe.

Plainitff Paula W. of Washington state has filed a lawsuit over irreversible peripheral neuropathy, nerve damage she says she received as a result of taking popular antibiotic Levaquin.

When the peripheral nervous system sustains damage, peripheral neuropathy results. When the brain and spinal cord transmit signals to the rest of the body, these signals are sent via the peripheral nervous system, the map of nerves throughout the body.

Levaquin is often prescribed to treat bacterial infections of the skin, sinuses, kidneys, bladder or prostate. It has also been used to treat bacterial bronchitis and pneumonia.

Washington Woman Suffers Irreversible Peripheral Neuropathy

According to her lawsuit, Paula filled a prescription for Levaquin and took it as directed. She experienced symptoms of peripheral neuropathy soon after starting the drug. According to the complaint, she suffers severe and permanent physical and emotional injuries from irreversible peripheral neuropathy.

Although such Levaquin nerve damage can be severe and debilitating, Levaquin packaging lists peripheral neuropathy at the bottom of a long list of rare adverse reactions.

Levaquin Is a Fluoroquinolone

Levaquin (levofloxacin) is a member of the quinolone class of antibiotics, more specifically, it is a fluoroquinolone.

In the 1960s, non-fluorinated quinolone antibiotics were developed and effective at fighting gram-negative bacteria. It wasn’t long before bacteria started to develop resistance.

In the 1980s, fluorinated quinolones were introduced. These second generation quinolones were stronger and could fight both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria.

Many fluoroquinolones have been taken off the market due to serious side effects, including the following:

1. Omniflox (temafloxacin)
2. Trovan (trovafloxacin)
3. Raxar (grepfloxacin)
4. Zagam (sparfloxacin)
5. Tequin (gatifloxacin)

Levaquin was approved by the FDA in December 1996. By 2007, it was ranked 19^th of all the sales of prescription drugs in the world.

Levaquin Link to Nerve Damage

For years, researchers have written about fluoroquinolones and their link to nerve damage.

In 1992, Dr. Aoun from a microbiology laboratory in Belgium raised a red flag regarding a 37-year-old patient who experienced peripheral neuropathy after ingesting fluoroquinolones.

Two other doctors wrote a review of 37 patients who experienced peripheral nerve damage, suffering numbness, pain and muscle weakness after taking fluoroquinolones in 1996.

Jay S. Cohen published a study in the U.S. he titled “Peripheral Neuropathy Associated with Fluoroquinolones” in 2001. The report looked at 45 patients who developed irreversible peripheral neuropathy after taking the drugs.

Ayad Ali, RPh, Phd analyzed FDA adverse event reports in a study he published in Annals of Epidemiology in January 2014. He found there were 539 reports of peripheral neuropathy of the 46,257 adverse events reported.

Ali’s report also showed evidence going back to at least 2005 that linked Levaquin and other fluoroquinolones with irreversible peripheral neuropathy.

The frequency and severity of Levaquin nerve damage was not as “rare” as the drug maker made it appear.

The Levaquin Irreversible Peripheral Neuropathy Lawsuit is Case No. 2:16-cv-04194 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.