Dozens of Benicar lawsuits against Daiichi Sankyo filed in New Jersey have now been centralized formally in Atlantic County court.

The lawsuits allege that Benicar causes severe gastrointestinal issues in consumers.

The court order states that lawsuits against Daiichi Sankyo alleging personal injury from Benicar (olmesartan) will be centralized as a multicounty litigation. Superior Court Judge Nelson C. Johnson was assigned to hear the cases.

Daiichi Sankyo, a pharmaceutical company based in Japan, as well as Forest Laboratories Inc., another company that makes a olmesartan product, Azor (which is combined with another drug, amlodipine), sought consolidation in May of this year.

They claimed it would conserve resources and avoid overlapping discovery, as well as eliminating competing rulings across courts.

According to Daiichi Sankyo and Forest’s application for multicounty litigation, the companies stated, “Centralized management in a multicounty litigation venue, with an experienced judge, will help ensure fairness to parties, provide a streamlined approach to case management and avoid the possibility of duplicative motion practice and inconsistent discovery rulings between multiple judges in Atlantic and Hudson counties.”

Multicounty litigation involves a number of personal injury claims that are associated with a single company, and often a single or similarly related product.

The Benicar lawsuits share factual and legal issues in common, so to streamline the litigation process, lawsuits are consolidated to a single court to be heard by one presiding judge.

Additionally, multicounty litigation (and it’s federal counterpart, multidistrict litigation) allows for conservation of resources, as experts, witnesses and those who are a part of the discovery phase of the trial are all present and represent the group of cases.

Since the same judge is hearing the cases, rulings and outcomes are more consistent. Many cases can be heard in a much shorter  amount of time, with less resources, than if each trial was conducted separately in various locations.

According to counsel for the plaintiffs, the order to consolidate the cases was well-received by the plaintiffs. She stated that many of the lawsuits were originally filed there, and the plaintiffs are pleased to be able to continue coordination of the state multicounty litigation with the ongoing federal litigation.

Benicar Side Effects

Benicar is a drug used to treat high blood pressure. While it appears to be effective, it has caused severe injury to numerous consumers who felt they were not adequately warned of the risks of the product before taking it.

The most severe side effects involve gastrointestinal issues. That includes adominal pain and discomfort, diarrhea and weight loss.

These severe side effects can get progressively worse over time. Benicar diarrhea and severe abdominal pain can lead to suspicion of Celiac disease, which can distract physicians from the actual problem.

If Benicar continues to be used, patients can develop villous atrophy, or sprue-like enteropathy. That can lead to malabsorption of nutrients and resultant malnutrition.

Benicar Lawsuit Information

If you or a loved one has suffered severe side effects as a result of using Benicar or another olmesartan product, you may have a legal claim. Our attorneys offer confidential and complimentary consultations to discuss your case and provide you guidance.