A Florida man recently filed a lawsuit against the manufacturers of two erectile dysfunction drugs, alleging that exposure to these drugs caused him to develop ED drug skin cancer.

The plaintiff, George H., says he took two prominent erectile dysfunction drugs: Cialis and Viagra. Cialis is manufactured by Eli Lilly, while Viagra is from Pfizer, Inc., both of which are named as defendants in George’s ED drug skin cancer lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, George took the erectile dysfunction medications Cialis and Viagra intermittently between 2009 and 2014. In April 2015, however, George was diagnosed melanoma, which he alleges was a direct result of exposure to these medications.

George filed his ED drug skin cancer lawsuit on multiple counts, including negligence, fraud, defective design, failure to warn, breach of express and implied warranties, and several others. The lawsuit was filed on April 2, 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

George’s is not the first lawsuit to be filed over ED drug skin cancer. These lawsuits cite several studies that look into the risk of ED drug skin cancer from Viagra. A 2014 Viagra melanoma study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that out of thousands of participants, those who had recently taken Viagra or other sildenafil drugs faced an 84 percent increased of developing (or worsening) melanoma.

The Risk of ED Drug Skin Cancer

Melanoma is most often associated with exposure to the sun. But this dangerous skin disease has also been linked with exposure to certain erectile dysfunction drugs, including Viagra.

Patients claim that they were not adequately warned about the risk of cancer associated with Viagra. And the risk is indeed considerable. Melanoma is dangerous enough that despite only two percent of skin cancer being melanoma, it is the cause of the greatest number of deaths from skin cancer. Nearly a thousand melanoma skin cancer deaths occur each year.

When coupled with other risk factors, like exposure to UV rays or even a family history of skin cancer, Viagra’s risk can be exacerbated.

Filing an ED Drug Skin Cancer Lawsuit

Plaintiffs involved in melanoma lawsuits allege that had Cialis and Viagra manufacturers given adequate warning about the risk of ED drug skin cancer linked with their drugs, they could have chosen another option and avoided this increased risk of skin cancer entirely.

If you or someone you love has suffered from ED drug skin cancer after using Viagra or Cialis, you may be able to file a lawsuit. Though filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by ED drug skin cancer or losing a loved one, it can help to alleviate the financial burden caused by medical expenses and lost wages.

The ED Drug Skin Cancer Lawsuit is Case No. 3:18-cv-02002-RS, in the U.S. District Court for the San Francisco Division of the Northern District of California.