A couple from Rhode Island has filed a testosterone product lawsuit against the makers of AndroGel, alleging that the drug caused serious medical side effects.

Plaintiffs David Florio and Margaret Florio have filed a testosterone gel lawsuit against AbbVie Inc., the makers of AndroGel. Their low-t drug lawsuit alleges that AndroGel caused David Florio to suffer heart-related problems from the testosterone drug.

Florio reportedly began taking AndroGel in 2003 and continued taking the drug through 2013. According to his testosterone side effects lawsuit, he was very healthy prior to treatment, and took the medication proactively. His testosterone gel lawsuit also states that the decision to take AndroGel was based on AbbVie’s assurances the drug was safe and effective. However, in 2011, he was diagnosed with coronary artery disease. It reportedly required a five-day hospitalization, and lifelong medical monitoring due to the risk of recurrence, his testosterone therapy lawsuit contends.

The Florios’ AndroGel lawsuit is joining others in multidistrict litigation (MDL) against AbbVie and several other companies that manufactured similar drugs. All of the drugs in question are designed to increase the levels of testosterone in men. The  a low-t drug MDL over these drugs alleges that these drugs are linked by scientific studies and post-market surveillance to an increased risk of blood clot-related illnesses.

When blood clots form in the body, they can cause serious medical problems. The blood clots can move throughout the circulatory system and block various tissues’ and organs’ blood supply. If this happens in the heart, it can cause coronary artery disease, as David Florio reportedly experienced. Errant blood clots can also cause stroke and pulmonary embolisms if they lodge in the brain or lungs, respectively. These blood clot complications can have lifelong consequences.

The testosterone products lawsuits also allege that the makers of the testosterone drugs have aggressively marketed them, despite the alleged link between the drug and blood clot related complications. One study found that nearly a quarter of men who took testosterone-based drugs had never actually had their testosterone levels tested. The testosterone product lawsuits have alleged that aggressive direct-to-patient marketing has promoted the idea that many men need testosterone-boosting drugs.

Low-t drug lawsuits over AndroGel and similar testosterone-boosting drugs has taken the form of a multidistrict litigation, or MDL. MDLs are a coordinated group of lawsuits, similar in some ways to a class action lawsuit. In both class action lawsuits and MDLs, a number of plaintiffs allege that they have suffered similar harm at the hands of the same individuals. The main difference is that class action lawsuits start out as group lawsuits, while MDLs start as individual lawsuits that are later grouped together into an MDL.

The AndroGel Lawsuit is David Florio, et al., v. AbbVie Inc., et al., Case No. 14 C 1748, within the MDL In Re: Testosterone Replacement Therapy Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2545, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.