A motion has been filed to centralize over 15 Benicar injury lawsuits alleging the popular hypertension medication causes severe, and sometimes permanent, gastrointestinal problems in users. Dozens more are expected to be filed in the next several weeks.

The proposed Benicar MDL (multidistrict litigation) will make it easier for consumers to bring claims against the drug maker that it failed to provide adequate warnings about Benicar side effects like chronic diarrhea, sprue-like enteropathy and other stomach issues that mimic celiac disease.

Approved by the FDA in 2002, Benicar (olmesartan medoxomil) is a popular hypertension medication used for treatment of high blood pressure. However, there are currently over a 15 different product liability lawsuits filed in U.S. District Courts nationwide, and up to 30 Benicar lawsuits already centralized in Atlantic County in New Jersey state court, involving allegations that the drug producers failed to adequately warn users it can cause gastrointestinal problems.

A motion to centralize all Benicar lawsuits before one judge was filed with the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) on December 18.

As most cases share the same complaints of Benicar causing sprue-like enteropathy, chronic diarrhea and gastrointestinal issues, Plaintiff Annette J. filed the motion “In order to promote efficiency for the parties, the court, and the witnesses, and to avoid inconsistent legal rulings from numerous federal courts.” She is requesting the JPML to transfer all Benicar lawsuits and other cases involving olmesartan drugs to the Northern District of Ohio, where nine cases are currently pending, under the Honorable Judge Dan Aaron Polster.

The request is likely to be granted, as according to the U.S. JPML motion, “centralization of the federal cases will make it easier for the New Jersey state court judge (and potentially future state court judges) to coordinate with one federal judge, as opposed to attempting to coordinate with multiple federal judges across the country.”

Oral arguments on the motion to create a Benicar MDL are expected to be heard at an upcoming hearing in Miami, Florida on Jan. 29 or March 26, 2015 in San Diego, California.

Benicar and GI Complications

Manufactured and distributed by Daiichi Sankyo and Forest Laboratories, Benicar has been on the market for over a decade. Benicar (olmesartan medoxomil) is one of Daiichi Sankyo’s blood pressure drugs. Their other hypertension drugs, including Benicar HCT, Azor and Tribenzor, also include the active ingredient olmesartan. However, it isn’t until recently that the medical community and patients learned of the alleged link between olmesartan and gastrointestinal problems like chronic diarrhea.

The link has been misdiagnosed for years; moreover, it could be months to years before symptoms show from Benicar usage. Evidence of the connection between Benicar (olmesartan medoxomil) and celiac disease symptoms has been reported in studies; however, the delayed reaction led to delayed findings. The FDA didn’t post a warning of Benicar’s risks to the public and doctors until 2013.

Their Benicar drug safety notice warned the medical community and consumers about the risks of the drug causing sprue-like enteropathy, a condition that results in chronic diarrhea, weight loss and potentially permanent gastrointestinal damage.

It has been found that Benicar users often see their symptoms disappear when they stop taking the drug, and reappear if Benicar is taken again. However, even if stopping the drug stops the symptoms, many long-term Benicar users may be left suffering villous atrophy. This decay of the villa in the intestinal tract prevents the absorption of nutrients and reduces digestive capabilities, typically resulting in malnutrition, chronic dehydration, and electrolyte imbalances.

As doctors didn’t know of the connection, they treated the symptoms. It’s estimated by the Celiac Disease Center that more than 20 percent of all prior cases of unclassified sprue may be due to Benicar, and not celiac disease.

Once they realized the source of their health problems, individual Benicar lawsuits started popping up, filed by victims of those cases and others who suffered from the blood pressure drug. The plaintiffs all claim that the drug manufacturers failed to provide adequate warnings of Benicar’s risks, and had they been aware of the symptoms to look out for, they could have avoided the long-term GI damage they now suffer.

As Benicar injury lawyers continue to review and file Benicar cases, it is estimated that hundreds more may be filed in courts around the country.