A woman has filed a lawsuit against Daiichi Sankyo, makers of a popular drug to treat high blood pressure, alleging that Benicar causes bowel problems that led her to personal injury.

Plaintiff Angela W. filed her short form complaint in the Benicar multidistrict litigation stating that she suffered injury to herself and economic loss as a result of her use of Benicar. Angela began taking Benicar in 2003 and alleging that Benicar causes bowel problems including “chronic diarrhea, dehydration, weight loss, malnutrition, requiring hospitalization.”

As a result of her injuries, Angela has brought forth a number of allegations including products liability for design defect and failure to warn, gross negligence, negligence, negligence per se, negligent misrepresentation, negligent design, fraudulent concealment, constructive fraud, fraud, breaches of express and implied warranties, unjust enrichment and violation of state consumer protection laws of the state of North Carolina.

As a result of her alleged experience that Benicar causes bowel problems, Angela is seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, interest, costs of suit and any additional relief deemed equitable and just by the Court. She is seeking a trial by jury.

The Benicar Lawsuit is Case No. 1:17-cv-04271 and is part of the Benicar MDL, In re: Benicar (Olmesartan) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2606, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Camden Vicinage.

Lawsuits in MDL Allege Benicar Causes Bowel Problems

Benicar, known generically as olmesartan, is used to treat high blood pressure in affected patients. It does so by dilating blood vessels, essentially giving blood more space to flow freely, reducing pressure inside the vessels and reducing the strain on the heart.

It belongs to a class of drugs known as angiotension II receptor blockers.

However, patients filing lawsuits claim Benicar causes bowel problems that are serious in nature, including “Olmesartan Associated Enteropathy (“OAE”), sprue-like enteropathy, villous atrophy/blunting/damage, inflammation, nausea, chronic diarrhea, malnutrition, dehydration, atrophy, kidney failure, weight loss, abdominal and gastrointestinal pain, colitis, gastritis, and including permanent injuries resulting therefrom, and death…”

The master complaint from the Benicar MDL states that the labels for Benicar and its related drugs, Benicar HCT, Azor and Tribenzor “failed to include such risks and misrepresented the safety of the drugs, and continue to inadequately and inaccurately disclose those risks today.”

The FDA is aware of evidence that Benicar causes bowel problems and issued a Drug Safety Communication in July 2013 warning that the drug has been linked to intestinal problems known as sprue-like enteropathy.

This condition causes similar damage and symptoms to those found in patients with celiac disease, including severe and chronic diarrhea with substantial weight loss. Villous atrophy can also be present.

The complaint states, “Despite this mounting evidence and the growing number of adverse event reports, both formal and informal, Defendants have, to this day, failed to adequately and accurately inform Plaintiffs, healthcare providers, and the general public of the existence of a causal association between the use of olmesartan products and Plaintiffs’ injuries.”

At last count, there are 1,880 individual claims pending as part of the multidistrict litigation alleging Benicar causes bowel problems. As these plaintiffs await their trials, more claims continue to be added to the litigation as patients search for justice.