A new lawsuit was filed on June 6, 2018 in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco by a complainant over alleged side effects of gadolinium—a contrast agent used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

The plaintiff, Ada H., claims she suffered from these side effects of gadolinium because the substance remained in her body in what has been referred to as gadolinium deposition disease (GDD).

Ada, a resident of Emerald Hills, Calif., says in her lawsuit narrative that her condition is the result of being given MultiHance, a gadolinium-based intravenous contrast material sold by the McKesson Co.

She is bringing her case for ongoing side effects of gadolinium against Bracco Diagnostics and the McKesson Corp.

Ada purportedly had laboratory testing which indicated normal functioning kidneys prior to experiencing the side effects of gadolinium and being diagnosed with GDD. The plaintiff was then subjected to multiple MRI tests using MultiHance.

She alleges she then started to experience a wide variety of symptoms including slight tremulousness to violent shaking, low blood sugar, overwhelming fatigue and weakness, mental fog and trouble sustaining cognitive focus, muscle cramps, aching joints, difficulty ambulating without pain, tingling and burning sensations throughout her body, unexplained rashes as well as hair and weight loss.

The term GDD was allegedly coined, according to the lawsuit, for people such as the plaintiff that had reports of these side effects of gadolinium despite prior measurement of normal renal system functionality. Gadolinium poisoning through GDD is reported to produce symptoms of bone and joint pain, frequent and persistent headaches, and confusion.

Nevertheless, Ada claims that had she not read an article on gadolinium side effects two years prior to filing this case, she still would not have had a name for what she was experiencing or connected the symptoms as side effects of gadolinium-based contrast agent administration.

In the late summer of 2016, the complainant reviewed an article called “Gadolinium in Humans: A Family of Disorders” and was allegedly enlightened to what she had been experiencing. Ada indicates that that defendant companies had access to information supporting GDD for at least a decade prior to her investigation of this topic.

Ada brings two counts against the defendants for their failure to make known potential side effects of gadolinium-based products such as MultiHance. These counts are Strict Liability—Failure to Warn and Negligence.

She hopes to recover compensatory damages for her condition which has caused her excruciating pain, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and financial loss in the form of medical treatment and inability to work.

Additionally, she hopes for consideration of her future medical care, attorney and court fees, prejudgment and post-judgment interest, and assessment of punitive damages according to evidence provided at trial.

The Side Effects of Gadolinium Lawsuit is Case No. CGC-18-567031 in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco.