An MRI patient has lodged a gadolinium side effects lawsuit. Plaintiff Jeffrey F. alleges that he was never told about the possibility of developing gadolinium side effects after receiving an MRI.

According to the gadolinium side effects lawsuit, this heavy metal and rare earth element does not occur naturally in the human body; the only way for it to enter a patient’s body is through a contrast agent. The California resident who initiated the gadolinium side effects lawsuit says that he was injected with the contrast agent before getting multiple MRIs.

Manufacturers of gadolinium and related contrast agents have long said that these agents harmlessly exit the body shortly after they have been administered to patients who have normal kidney function. According to the gadolinium side effects lawsuit, however, Jeffrey says that gadolinium has stayed in his body years after being administered.

The gadolinium lawsuit says that the primary potential gadolinium injuries are disabling symptoms affecting the kidney, brain, heart, liver, bones and skin and the development of fibrosis in the bones, organs and skin.

According to the gadolinium side effects lawsuit, the plaintiff was never told about the risks of gadolinium retention due to his normal renal function prior to getting the MRIs. His gadolinium lawsuit states manufacturers of the contrast agents only provided warnings to those patients who had reduced renal function prior to receiving the contrast agents.

Gadolinium Use

Jeffrey alleges he underwent numerous MRIs in which he was injected with gadolinium-based contrast agents known as Multihance and Optimark. These contrast agents are used to help get clearer MRI imagery. Jeffrey filed the gadolinium side effects lawsuit saying that he head normal kidney function at the time of the procedure, and had no reason to believe he would suffer side effects.

Jeffrey argues that the symptoms can also affect patients who have normal kidney function. He says that the manufacturers either knew or should have known about the possibility of it negatively affecting those patients who had normal kidney function at the time of use. He claims that patients should have been warned that they could develop significant side effects or disabling conditions, like himself.

Patients like Jeffrey have long been told that while MRIs do leave traces of gadolinium in the body, these would be flushed out relatively quickly. This led many patients to believe that they were not at risk for problems associated with the accumulation or long-term presence of gadolinium in their bodies. According to the above-mentioned lawsuit and others filed by injured patients, however, the risk of injury is there.

At the time that Jeffrey was injected with Multihance and Optimark, he had normal kidney function. According to the lawsuit, however, the gadolinium retained in his body led to fibrosis in the skin, bones and organs, also impacting the neurons of his brain. The numerous different side effects reported by Jeffrey as a result of retaining the heavy metal inside his body include cognitive issues, burning sensations, hardening of the skin, severe pain, loss of balance, and sensations of tightness in the skin.

The Gadolinium Side Effects Lawsuit is Case No. 5:18-cv-03830, filed in the United States District Court, Northern District of California.