Patients claim gadolinium contrast agents used in MRIs cause serious side effects. 

Gadolinium is a heavy metal whose magnetic qualities improve the visibility of organs, blood vessels, and tissues during an MRI. Gadolinium contrast agents are injected into a patient in advance of an MRI, and doctors use it to be able to detect abnormalities and injury when looking at MRI imaging.

Gadolinium contrast agents were believed to be safe because it was believed that the body would naturally filter them out mere hours after the procedure. However, recent research shows that gadolinium may remain in the body for months or years after an injection. Patients believe that various side effects they’ve experienced after a gadolinium MRI may be caused by the presence of this heavy metal in the body. These side effects are sometimes referred to informally as “gadolinium deposition disease.”

Reported side effects that patients believe is due to gadolinium poisoning include:

• Bone and joint pain
• Cognitive difficulties or “brain fog”
• Headaches
• Memory impairment
• Pain and burning sensation in the arms, legs, and torso
• Spongy or rubbery skin
• Thickened and painful ligaments
• Tightness in the hands and feet
• Others

If you were injected with gadolinium contrast agents during an MRI and experienced any of these side effects, or other complications, you may have a legal claim.

After more and more patients have reported experiencing symptoms of gadolinium poisoning ad gadolinium deposition disease, the FDA released a safety alert in December 2017 warning the public of the dangers of the procedure. In this report, the FDA stated that there was evidence that gadolinium did not exit the body quickly as previously thought, instead remaining the body for long periods of time and causing adverse reactions.

Additionally, in this FDA warning, patients were warned that patients with kidney problems were especially susceptible to the dangers of gadolinium contrast agents. However, patients with normal kidney function say they experienced severe gadolinium side effects.

One of the most well known gadolinium contrast agents lawsuits was filed by Chuck Norris and his wife, Gena Norris. The couple claims that Gena developed debilitating side effects five years after being injected with gadolinium contrast agents during an MRI. Gena stated that “litigation is  the only course of action we can take to hold the drug companies accountable for threatening the lives of so many innocent people.”

According to Gena, drug companies intentionally ignore the research that shows that gadolinium contrast agents are dangerous and market the contrast agents while knowing they pose a risk to patient health. Gena went on to state that “these companies continue to say that there is no link between gadolinium and adverse events, even though the evidence is overwhelming that this heavy metal stays in the body for years, rather than hours.”

If you were injected with gadolinium contrast agents and suffered adverse side effects, you may have a legal claim and could receive compensation. If drug companies are found to have been negligent in investigating the side effects of the agents or knowingly kept important information about gadolinium contrast agents from the public, the companies may be liable for a patient injury.