A consumer recently filed a Nexium kidney damage lawsuit against manufacturers, alleging that the proton pump inhibitor caused her to sustain acute kidney injury.

Plaintiff Rebecca H. recently filed a lawsuit against numerous manufacturers including AstraZenca, Merck, and Pfizer, alleging that she sustained Nexium kidney damage after taking the proton pump inhibitor.

Rebecca says she used Nexium 24HR from January 2015 until August 2016. Allegedly as a result of her usage, Rebecca sustained Nexium kidney damage and she was diagnosed with acute kidney injury.

Acute kidney injury is defined by the National Kidney Foundation as “a sudden episode of kidney failure or kidney damage that happens within a few hours or a few days.”

The process can inhibit kidney function and cause problems in the body, including the brain, heart, and lungs. Symptoms of acute kidney injury can include swelling, low urine output, fatigue, shortness of breath, confusion, nausea, seizures, and chest pain. Rebecca argues that this condition can be a result of Nexium kidney damage.

According to the Nexium kidney damage lawsuit, individuals who take proton pump inhibitors are at a 2.5 times greater risk to suffer from acute kidney injury.

Due to the nature of acute kidney failure, a patient can suffer from the condition for months before having the problem diagnosed. By this time, they are at an increased risk for chronic kidney disease and end stage renal disease, both of which involve complete kidney failure and can be deadly.

Rebecca argues that the manufacturers should have warned their consumers of the potential risk for Nexium kidney damage. Because the drug manufacturers failed to warn consumers of the potential risk for serious kidney damage, they allegedly could not make an informed decision about their health and if they should take Nexium.

“Defendants, through their affirmative misrepresentations and/or omissions, actively concealed from Plaintiffs and Plaintiffs’ physicians the true and significant risks associated with the use of Defendants’ PPI Products,” the Nexium kidney damage lawsuit claims.

In her Nexium kidney damage lawsuit, Rebecca also notes that proton pump inhibitors such as Nexium are allegedly overprescribed according to numerous studies.

“In spite of their commercial success and global popularity, up to 70% of PPI Products may be used inappropriately for indications or durations that were never tested or approved,” the suit claims.

Rebecca argues that, had the defendants properly warned consumer of the risks, their dangerous products would not be so widely and indiscriminately used.

Rebecca accuses the defendants of strict product liability, strict product liability – failure to warn, strict product liability – design defect, negligence, breach of warranties, negligent misrepresentation, fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, and violation of consumer protection laws.

Rebecca’s husband, Larry H., has also brought forward a claim for loss of consortium damages. The Nexium kidney damage lawsuit seeks compensatory damages totaling more than $75,000, economic damages, punitive damages, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

The Nexium Kidney Damage Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-12288-CCC-MF and is part of the Nexium Kidney Damage MDL, In re: Proton-Pump Inhibitor Products Liability Litigation (No. II), Case No. 2:17-md-02789-CCC-MF, in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.