An Alabama couple has joined the mounting multidistrict litigation against the manufacturers of Benicar, a popular blood pressure medication.

The MDL, consolidated in New Jersey, was created to deal with allegations that Benicar and its sibling medications may cause serious gastrointestinal side effects.

Plaintiffs Wayne and Thera B. filed the Benicar lawsuit after Wayne started experiencing serious Benicar side effects, including gastrointestinal complications.

According to the Benicar lawsuit, Wayne began experiencing painful side effects including nausea, vomiting, dehydration and other intestinal issues after starting to take Benicar in 2010.

Wayne claims that the Benicar side effects caused him to suffer personal injuries and loss of economic wages.

Wayne and his wife are suing Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. and Forest Laboratories, Inc. for fraudulent concealment, unjust enrichment, and failure to warn. Thera is suing for loss of consortium, which means the loss of intimacy with her husband.

Benicar Complications

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Benicar to treat high blood pressure in 2002. Benicar, considered an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB), is an effective treatment for hypertension. It widens the blood vessels within the body and prevents vessel constriction. 

By 2012, roughly 1.9 million individuals had filled a Benicar or related drug prescription, making it one of the most widely prescribed blood pressure medications on the U.S. market.

Despite its popularity, it didn’t take long before the FDA began receiving adverse reports from Benicar consumers claiming that the hypertension medication caused severe side effects including sprue-like enteropathy, which is the medical term for chronic diarrhea.

According to Benicar patients, the gastrointestinal side effects can take anywhere from a few months to a few years to develop, making it difficult for physicians and consumers to link the medical condition to the medication.

Often Benicar consumers are misdiagnosed as having celiac disease when they develop chronic diarrhea, but they usually claim that the symptoms stop once they discontinue taking the drug.

However, Benicar patients allege that just because the symptoms end does not mean they have not been seriously injured. Sprue-like enteropathy and villous atrophy occur when the intestinal lining is damaged and often requires hospitalization.

The FDA required Benicar manufacturers to include a warning for sprue-like enteropathy on the drug label in 2013. Benicar is one of eight ARB medications, but according to the FDA its the only one linked to gastrointestinal complications including chronic diarrhea.

Benicar Chronic Diarrhea Lawsuits

The number of plaintiffs joining the Benicar MDL continues to grow. In general, plaintiffs claim that had they been fully warned of the side effects of Benicar, they never would have taken that particular medication.

Spouses often choose to join a Benicar lawsuit and sue for loss of consortium, which typically results in a higher award amount.

Many times, filing a Benicar lawsuit is the only way to recover financially from the high cost of medical bills as well as the pain and suffering associated with sprue-like enteropathy and villous atrophy.

Wayne and Thera’s Benicar Lawsuit is In re: Benicar (Olmesartan) Products Liability Litigation, Case No. 1:15-cv-06616-RBK-JS in MDL No. 2606, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Camden Vicinage.