Due to the increasing number of Benicar lawsuits, drug manufacturer Daiichi Sankyo Inc. is urging the New Jersey Supreme Court to consolidate Benicar lawsuits into a Benicar MDL.

Benicar lawsuits accuse the Japanese drug manufacturer of creating a drug that causes people to suffer from sprue-like enteropathy and other serious gastrointestinal issues.

What is a MDL?

MDL means multidistrict litigation. This is when multiple lawsuits that share many similarities are consolidated. This prevents overlapping discovering and prevents opposing rulings in different courts across the country. It allows the legal process to run more smoothly and faster than if each lawsuit was tried individually.
Nearly 60 Benicar lawsuits have been unofficially consolidated in New Jersey, but more and more complaints about Benicar side effects are being filed in other states. Daiichi Sankyo stated, “given the volume of cases and the fact that plaintiffs’ counsel is now filing cases in other counties, the time has come for centralized case management to be formalized.” This application was given on May 19. The court is allowing comments to be made until June 26.

Defendants have argued that by not consolidating the Benicar lawsuits, the court would be allowing different counties to be making different decisions. Through a Benicar MDL, plaintiffs and defendants would be given consistency and would not need to repeat their discovery in court multiple times.

Allegedly, Daiichi Sankyo originally opposed consolidation believing that there were not enough Benicar lawsuits. However, due to the growing number of people claiming that the drug caused them to develop sprue-like enteropathy or other Benicar side effects, the drug makers have apparently changed their minds.

Benicar Side Effects

Benicar side effects alleged in Benicar lawsuits have included:

• Severe and chronic diarrhea
• Substantial weight loss
• Electrolyte imbalance
• Sprue-like enteropathy
• Villous atrophy
• Other GI problems misdiagnosed as celiac disease symptoms

These side effects can be very harmful for an individual and require extensive hospitalization depending on the severity of the sprue-like enteropathy or other gastrointestinal side effects.

Benicar lawsuits may help plaintiffs to win compensation for these medical costs as well as for the pain and suffering caused by Benicar, lost wages, and other damages.