On Aug. 8, 2017, a new lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in the District of New Jersey. The named defendant in this case is Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson, the drug manufacturing giant.

The plaintiff, James N., claims that he suffered Invokana kidney injury at the hands of the defendants via the drug designed to treat type-2 diabetes.

With this legal action, James N., a resident of Virginia, joins multidistrict litigation (MDL) No. 2750 against Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a Pennsylvania company headquartered in Titusville, N.J.  The MDL against them is pending in the State of New Jersey.

Invokana History

Janssen Pharmaceuticals made a new drug application for Invokana with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), who approved the compound generically known as canagliflozin in March 2013.

It was the first of its kind to get approval by the federal oversight agency, and it was specifically approved for the treatment of type-2 diabetes only. Unfortunately, according to the documentation, the company has allegedly promoted the use of the drug for hypertension and weight loss as well.

Invokana is part of a class of medications known as sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2), which stimulate the kidneys to release blood glucose and excrete it through the urinary tract rather than reabsorb it.

This allegedly puts sufferers of type-2 diabetes at risk for Invokana kidney injury, according to the legal documentation. Type-2 diabetics have a higher risk of developing kidney disease as part of the disease profile.

According to Invokana history as reported in the lawsuit, the number of adverse events related to the kidneys sparked the FDA’s demand for a label change in December 2015. The required label change was to warn of ketoacidosis and urosepsis, both significantly injurious conditions to the kidneys.

The Plaintiff and Invokana Kidney Injury

According to the allegations presented in the lawsuit, James N. took Invokana as directed by the defendants and his doctor. He suffered Invokana kidney injury in January 2015 after an unspecified period under treatment with the medications. It was necessary for him to be hospitalized because of this Invokana kidney injury for two weeks.

He claims that he suffered grave emotional distress, diminishment of life enjoyment, physical pain and suffering, and accumulated significant economic liabilities because of hospital and doctor bills. The plaintiff also claims that related medical care and expenses are likely to continue into the foreseeable future.

James is bringing the following counts against Janssen Pharmaceuticals for his Invokana kidney injury: Strict Liability, Manufacturing Defect, Design Defect, Failure to Warn, Negligence, Breach of Express Warranty, Breach of Implied Warranty, Negligent Misrepresentation, Fraud, and Violation of Consumer Protection Laws.

The plaintiff is asking for a trial by jury and compensatory damages to recover lost income and earning potential in the past and future. He asks for said damages to consider his pain and suffering, court costs and attorney’s fees, pre-judgement and post-judgement interest. James also asks for punitive damages to be considered against the defendants as well.

The Invokana Kidney Injury Lawsuit is Case No. 3:17-cv-05864-BRM-LHG in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.