A Benicar lawsuit was filed at the end of December 2014, which alleged the drug caused an Ohio resident to develop severe sprue-like enteropathy, which is similar to celiac disease. Defendants include Daiichi Sankyo Inc and Forest Laboratories Inc., whcih have manufactured and sold Benicar in the United States.

Benicar was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, in 2002 to treat hypertension. In 2013, the FDA issued a warning that stated Benicar “can cause intestinal problems known as sprue-like enteropathy.” Sprue-like enteropathy includes severe, chronic diarrhea and substantial weight loss. It can be extremely dangerous and painful.

The Benicar lawsuit alleges that a patient may develop sprue-like enteropathy after long-term use of the drug. Benicar has also allegedly caused patients to be wrongfully diagnosed with celiac disease when they actually had villous atrophy.

Clinical trials for the drug lasted three months. The Benicar lawsuit claimed that “clinal trials over periods greater than three months would reveal the effects of longer term cumulative exposure to [Benicar].”

The defendants allegedly heavily promoted Benicar in the United States, where 23 million people have high blood pressure. The drug was advertised as being more efficient and safer than competitors’ drugs.

The FDA required the defendants to stop making these claims in 2006 after realizing “there was no evidence that Benicar was superior to, safer than, or more effective than other” competitors, according to the Benicar lawsuit.

The FDA also stated, “the [promotional] materials also minimized the risks it did present and misleadingly signals to the reader that the risks that are presented are minimal in nature,” says the Benicar lawsuit. More promotional materials were revoked in 2013.

Allegedly as a result of the defendants’ actions, plaintiff Marilyn M. developed severe intestinal problems including “sprue-like enteropathy, lymphocytic colitis, microscopic colitis, collagenous colitis, and/or intestinal malabsorption,” and as a result suffered from “chronic diarrhea, rapid weight loss, nausea, vomiting, malnutrition, dehydration, and/or acute renal failure,” according to the Benicar lawsuit.

These Benicar side effects caused Marilyn to be hospitalized several times in order to recover or be monitored, according to the Benicar lawsuit. She will need to continue screenings and tests, as a result.

In addition to the mental/physical injuries allegedly caused by Benicar, the drug also caused Marilyn to pay a significant amount of money for medication, hospital visits, etc in order to treat the intestinal diseases.

When she later discovered that her injuries may have been caused by Benicar, the plaintiff filed a Benicar lawsuit against the defendants.

The Benicar lawsuit alleges the defendants are guilty of defective design, failure to warn, strict liability, gross negligence, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, constructive fraud, civil conspiracy, breach of warranty, and several other counts.

Several Benicar lawsuits have been filed by individuals across the country who, like Marilyn, have allegedly experienced severe Benicar side effects. Benicar lawsuits seek to win damages for medical costs, pain and suffering, legal fees, punitive damages, and anything else the court deems fit.

This Benicar Lawsuit is Case No. 5:14-cv-02784 filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division.