A Pennsylvania man hit Daiichi Sankyo with a Benicar lawsuit for allegedly causing him to suffer severe intestinal side effects after taking the blood pressure medication.

Plaintiff James S. claims in his Benicar lawsuit that soon after starting the drug, he started to experience sprue-like enteropathy, chronic diarrhea, and intestinal damage.

Like the 73 million Americans who suffer hypertension, James was suffering from high blood pressure and was looking for a solution. Patients with high blood pressure are at a higher risk for heart attacks and other cardiovascular complications, with shorter life expectancies.

To treat James’ high blood pressure, his doctor prescribed Benicar. Unfortunately, it was not long after James started taking Benicar that the plaintiff began experiencing problems.

While taking Benicar, James says he followed all prescription instructions and listened to the advice of his physician. Additionally, he explains in his Benicar lawsuit that there were no indications or warnings of the intestinal side effects, giving the him no reason to suspect that his nutritional health was about to be put in jeopardy.

According to the Benicar lawsuit, James developed severe intestinal damage and colonic disease symptoms, such as sprue-like enteropathy and intestinal malabsorption, similar to Celiac disease.

These symptoms had caused James to suffer from chronic diarrhea, rapid weight loss, nausea, vomiting, malnutrition, dehydration, and acute renal failure.

Due to the severity of these complications, James was hospitalized and had to be monitor be physicians and other health care experts to determine whether or not Celiac disease was the cause of his symptoms.

In may cases of alleged Benicar intestinal damage, doctors often mistake the condition for Celiac disease due to the similarity in symptoms. After it was determined that Celiac disease was not the cause, doctors soon concluded that Benicar was linked to his condition. He stopped taking the blood pressure drug immediately.

After receiving hospital treatment, James was released, but he continues to be monitored by his physician. James states that his injuries were completely avoidable, and that he never would have taken Benicar if he had known of the risk of sprue-like enteropathy or intestinal damage.

Furthermore, the James states in his Benicar lawsuit that the defendant had the civil responsibility of warning him and other Benicar patients of all side effects of their products.

So for being allegedly responsible for manufacturing, selling, distributing, and marketing a dangerous product, James is suing Daiichi Sankyo. The charges include: negligence, false advertising, concealing information, and misrepresenting a product.

This Benicar Lawsuit is filed In Re: Benicar (Olmesartan) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2606, in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey, Camden Division.

Overview of Benicar Complications

The FDA approved Benicar for the American market in April 2002. Daiichi Sankyo reportedly spent $1 billion in advertising expenses to promote Benicar from 2002 to 2008.The campaign was successful, as it became the most popular blood pressure drug in the United States.

Experts state that this is primarily due to the strategy the pharmaceutical company used in promoting Benicar, citing the face-to-face meetings with physicians, medical meeting events, and giving out clinical samples.

However, in 2013 the FDA issued a public warning regarding Benicar side effects, pointing out potential sprue-like enteropathy and other intestinal problems.