Fluoroquinolone antibiotic drugs like Levaquin have been linked with a heightened risk of major and even life-threatening side effects like damage to the aorta. Patients may be able to file a Levaquin aortic aneurysm lawsuit over these side effects, alleging they were inadequately warned about the risk.

These complications may place a great many of patients at risk. Levaquin and other fluoroquinolone drugs are some of the most popular antibiotic drugs in use across the country. These medications are used to treat infections like bronchitis and urinary tract infections in millions of Americans.

Background of Levaquin

Levaquin is part of a group of antibiotics known as fluoroquinolones, which are broad-spectrum antibiotics that can be used to treat a variety of infections. They are commonly used to treat problems like urinary tract infections, pneumonia, bronchitis, typhoid fever, and many other diseases. Other fluoroquinolone drugs include Avelox, Cipro, Factive, Noroxin, and Floxin.

Unfortunately, these drugs have been linked with a risk of serious side effects, and more and more users are coming forward alleging that they were inadequately warned about the risk of using fluoroquinolone drugs like Levaquin. Indeed, the use of Levaquin has been connected with an increased risk of damage to the aorta, the body’s main artery responsible for carrying blood from the heart.

Levaquin Side Effects Include Aortic Aneurysm

An aortic aneurysm is a serious and painful complication in which the aorta bulges as the artery’s walls weaken. This often causes chest pain, and has the added risk of a potential rupture.

Similarly, an aortic dissection involves the layers of the aorta breaking down, dissecting the inner and middle layers, which can cause rupture or leaking. This is potentially more dangerous than an aortic aneurysm, and can lead to heart attack, stroke, paralysis, and other major problems. Both of these antibiotic side effects are quite serious and usually require surgery.

The risk of these side effects is significant. Indeed, recent studies have found that users of Levaquin and other fluoroquinolones face somewhere between a 124 percent and 143 percent increased risk of aortic dissection or aortic aneurysm.

Filing a Levaquin Aortic Aneurysm Lawsuit

Fluoroquinolone drugs like Levaquin have been targeted in an ever-increasing amount of antibiotic side effects litigation. Dozens of lawsuits so far have hit fluoroquinolone drug manufacturers. These lawsuits claim that these drugs caused serious or debilitating injuries, and that drug manufacturers failed to give adequate warning about these potentially serious antibiotic side effects to the public and to the medical community.

If you or someone you know has been prescribed Levaquin or another fluoroquinolone drug, and were later diagnosed with one of these serious antibiotic side effects such as an aortic aneurysm or dissection, you may be able to file a Levaquin aortic aneurysm lawsuit against the drug’s manufacturers. Filing a Levaquin aortic aneurysm lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by antibiotic side effects, or bring a loved one back to life, but it can help to alleviate the financial burden caused by medical expenses and lost wages.