In a Levaquin lawsuit investigation, lawyers look into a possible link between a common antibiotic and aortic problems including aneurysms and tears.

Fluoroquinolone antibiotics like Levaquin are common antibiotics used to treat common bacterial infections. If you had one of the following bacterial infections, were treated with Levaquin and then developed aortic problems, you may have a legal claim in a Levaquin lawsuit:

• respiratory and urinary tract infections
• bacterial bronchitis
• pneumonia
• sinusitis
• septicemia
• intra-abdominal infection
• joint and bone infections
• soft tissue and skin infections
• typhoid fever
• bacterial gastroenteritis
• urethral and gynecological infections
• pelvic inflammatory disease
• other infectious conditions

Currently, lawyers are looking into patient claims in a Levaquin lawsuit investigation, analyzing this specific drug’s link to aortic problems. Levaquin is a prescription drug developed by Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Research & Development LLC, and Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

Flouroquinolones have long been associated with extreme side effects. Drugs closest to those on the market today were first developed in the 1980s. In 1992, Omniflox was pulled from the market only six months after its release after reports connected it to low blood sugar, anemia, and kidney failure.

However, at no point since these drugs’ release have they been pulled from the market for their connection to aortic problems, nor have drug manufacturers been required to notify providers and patients’ over the drugs’ suspected connection to aortic problems.

Drugs that have been linked to aortic tears and aneurisms are the following:

• Avelox
• Levaquin
• Cipro
• Factive
• Noroxin
• Floxin

According to many fluoroquinolone lawsuits, Levaquin and other antibiotics have a serious side effect that may cause aortas to tear and weaken. These lawsuits claim that drug manufacturers failed to warn consumers about this serious side effect of taking the antibiotic. These lawsuits claim that drug manufacturers are in violation of FDA regulations requiring drug manufacturers to report complications related to their drugs within 15 days of receiving reports of patient injury or death.

Extreme side effects that consumers can address in a Levaquin lawsuit include aortic dissection and aortic aneurysm. The aorta is the major blood vessel (artery) that carries blood out of the heart. It runs from the top of the heart down to the abdomen in front of the backbone.

Aortic dissection is a potentially life-threatening tear in the aorta. All blood vessels, including the aorta, are composed of several layers. In some cases, a tear in one of the aorta’s inner layers can allow blood to flow between two layers in the aorta’s walls, pulling the layers apart. This can stretch and weaken the outer layers of the walls, causing them to rupture or leak.

An aortic aneurysm is a bulging or enlargement of the aorta. Aneurysms can occur anywhere in the aorta, but most commonly occur in the abdomen. In this instance, they are reared to as abdominal aortic aneurysms. They can also occur in the upper body, and in this care are called thoracic aortic aneurysms.

Consumers who make a valid claim in a Levaquin lawsuit can recuperate damages for financial, physical, and emotional injuries sustained by their use of Levaquin and resultant aortic problems.