A Florida resident is suing the makers of the hypertension medication Benicar after claims that use of the product left him hospitalized with chronic diarrhea.

Plaintiff Richard D. allegedly took the blood pressure medication for nine years and was hospitalized on numerous occasions for rapid weight loss, malnutrition and dehydration — some of the health complications associated with the colonic disease known as sprue-like enteropathy.

The Benicar lawsuit claims the manufacturers Daiichi Sankyo and Forest Pharmaceuticals were well aware of these life-threatening side effects yet intentionally downplayed them while promoting their product.

Richard is one of 11 million Benicar (olmesartan) users who take the medication to help alleviate hypertension. Despite its bestselling status, numerous Benicar lawsuits have been filed recently. 

In this Benicar lawsuit, Richard claims Daiichi Sankyo and Forest Pharmaceuticals “knew or recklessly disregarded the fact that the olmesartan products caused debilitating and potentially lethal side effects, Defendants continued to market, promote, and distribute the olmesartan products to consumers, including Plaintiff, without disclosing these side effects when there were safer alternative methods for treating hypertension.”

Richard is seeking financial compensation for the pain he continues to suffer along with funds to help him recover from the medical costs he has endured and is seeking more than $75,000 for his continuous medical treatments needed because of the dangerous side effects of Benicar.

Benicar Side Effect Complications

Benicar was FDA approved to treat hypertension in 2002 and quickly became one of most commonly prescribed blood pressure medications in the United States. Shortly after its approval, patients began filing severe adverse event reports with the agency with claims that Benicar causes chronic diarrhea.

By July 2013, the FDA issued a warning that Benicar (and other olmesartan-containing products) may cause the serious intestinal condition known as sprue-like enteropathy. The government agency urged drug manufacturers to include the serious risk on their warning label.

Benicar side effect complications may take months, or even years to develop. This makes it difficult for many users, like Richard, to connect their intestinal condition to Benicar. Once patients stop taking the hypertension medication, the benicar diarrhea symptoms usually stop but users are left with permanent intestinal damage like villous atrophy.

Benicar Lawsuits

More than 45 million Americans are under medical treatment for high blood pressure yet according to the FDA, sprue-like enteropathy has not been a side effect detected with any other hypertension medications except olmesartan (Benicar). Numerous Benicar lawsuits allege manufacturers failed to warn of the life-threatening risks associated with taking the medication.

Richard is one of many who have filed lawsuits against Benicar makers for designing and marketing a “unreasonably dangerous” blood pressure medication without warning physicians and consumers of the severe health risks involved. This Benicar lawsuit alleges the manufacturers deliberately disregarded the rights of consumers to warn of any potential side effects. 

The Benicar Lawsuit is Case No. 1:15-cv-02953-RBK-JS, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Ocala Division.