Levaquin is a type of fluoroquinolone antibiotic, a class of antibiotics used to treat a variety of bacterial infections including respiratory and urinary tract infections, bacterial bronchitis, pneumonia, sinusitis, septicemia, intra-abdominal infections, joint and bone infections, and their conditions.

Levaquin antibiotic side effects can be serious. The FDA has come out with warnings about many possible side effects of these drugs. A previous drug safety communication addressed the risk of tendon rupture associated with fluoroquinolones like Levaquin. 

New research shows that people who take fluoroquinolones like Levaquin are two to three times more likely to experience life-threatening damage to their aorta than people who did not take fluoroquinolone antibiotics.

The aorta is the body’s main artery, responsible for carrying blood away from the heart. Damage done to aortas by fluoroquinolone antibiotics reportedly involve aortic tears, dissections, and aneurysm. In 2015, two studies investigated the link between fluoroquinolone antibiotics and cardiac events.

Allegedly, the drug breaks down collagen, which is part of the aortic tissue. When the collagen breaks down, as does the tissue of the aorta as a whole, leading the tissue to rupture (aortic dissection) or weaken and bulge (aortic aneurysm). These conditions are serious, as they result in internal bleeding, causing heart attack, stroke, paralysis, and kidney failure. These conditions can often be fatal.

Experts have long known that drugs like Levaquin can lead to tendon ruptures because of the collagen breakdown side effect, and the new research shows that the aorta problems may be related to the same effect. A November 2015 study showed that current fluoroquinolone use increases a person’s risk of having an aortic dissection or an aneurysm by between 124 and 143 percent. Past users reportedly had a 48 percent higher risk of an aortic dissection or an aneurysm.

If you took the antibiotic Levaquin and experienced a serious side effect, you may have a legal claim. Lawyers are investigating claims of Levaquin antibiotic side effects including aortic dissection and aortic aneurysm. Even if you do not currently take Levaquin, you may be at risk for Levaquin antibiotic side effects like an aortic dissection or an aneurysm if you took the drug in the past.

Patients have already filed dozens of lawsuits over the negative effects of fluoroquinolone drugs. In these lawsuits, patients claim that companies that manufacture and sell the drugs field to warn customers and medical professionals about the possible dangers associated with using the drugs.

Under federal law, drug manufacturers are required to report patients reports of injury, side effects, and complications from using a drug within 15 days of receiving the reports. In some cases, patients accuse the drug companies of not complying sufficiently with this regulation.

If it is found that the makers of Levaquin had knowledge of Levaquin antibiotic side effects and did not warn consumers and medical professionals, they could be held accountable for patient injury. If you took Levaquin and think you may have experienced a Levaquin antibiotic side effect, contacting an experienced Levaquin lawyer can help you determine if you have a legal claim.