Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals are facing a new Invokana lawsuit, after an Arizona couple alleged the companies’ medication had caused the wife to develop serious and life threatening conditions.

The couple further complained that the companies had failed to warn them against potential Invokana injuries, which could have prevented acute kidney injury.

Plaintiff couple Jill and Scott M. are filing an Invokana lawsuit after Jill had been prescribed the medication to treat her type-2 diabetes.

Jill had been prescribed Invokana on July 5, 2013, and had only taken the medication for treatment purposes. However, after being diagnosed with diabetic ketoacidosis and acute kidney injury on Jan. 19, 2015, her Invokana prescription ended.

Jill and her husband allege her Invokana injuries could have been prevented if she had known the severity of the drug’s side effects. Even though these Invokana injuries could be life threatening, the public did not become widely aware of them until the FDA announced the correlation on May 15, 2015.

On that date the agency warned against Invokana and other SGLT2 inhibitors could caused serious kidney damage, and could be potentially fatal.

Overview of Invokana Injuries

Invokana was approved by the FDA in 2013, and became a part of the sodium-glucose contransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors. Invokana works by preventing glucose from being reabsorbed into the blood and kidneys, which prevents blood sugar from reaching dangerous heights.

The excess sugar is then expelled from the body through urination, resulting in a healthy insulin and glucose balance in the patient. However there have been concerns incited due to this treatment mechanism, as various Invokana injuries have been reported.

Invokana is directly processed through the kidneys, which can potentially cause complications. According to the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS), there were 20 cases of diabetic ketoacidosis in patients prescribed SGLT2 inhibitors between March 2013 and June 2014.

Diabetic ketoacidosis occurs when there is too much sugar in the blood and not enough insulin, which forces the body to metabolize fat instead of sugar. This causes ketones, or blood acids, to build up and cause numerous problems for the kidneys and the rest of the body.

Acute kidney failure has also been included in Invokana injuries, as the medication directly interacts with the kidneys. Even though these Invokana injuries could be potentially fatal, Johnson & Johnson allegedly failed to warn patients against them.

Jill states that she never would have taken the medication if she had been aware of the possible Invokana injuries.

This Invokana lawsuit is Case 3:17-cv-00174-BRM-LHG, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Trenton Division.