New Lawsuit Filed Over Severe Propecia Side Effects
By Andrea Gressman
On September 19, 2012 a new Propecia lawsuit was filed against the drug’s manufacturer, Merck and Co., Inc., over long-lasting side effects the plaintiff suffered. The unnamed plaintiff apparently started using Propecia, also known as finasteride, at the age of 24 in April 2008 to treat is male pattern baldness. As a result, the plaintiff claims that he experienced significant side effects of Propecia, including sexual dysfunction and cognitive impairment.
Details of the Propecia Lawsuit
The Illinois plaintiff filed his Propecia lawsuit in the Eastern District of New York U.S. District Court, which is currently where the Propecia lawsuit MDL is located. In the Propecia lawsuit the plaintiff alleges he never had any of the side effect issues prior to taking Propecia and, therefore, the cognitive and sexual problems he experienced were because of the Propecia.
The plaintiff is seeking in excess of $75,000 in compensation and damages in the Propecia lawsuit as he alleges that the manufacturer was aware of the side effects of Propecia and finasteride but failed to warn potential users through the labeling process.
The Propecia lawsuit goes on to say that after the FDA’s approval of Propecia, the drug’s label stated that in the clinical studies completed that less than 2% of Propecia users experienced side effects. These side effects included the following:
* Ejaculation disorders
* Erectile dysfunction
* Decreased libido
The Propecia sexual dysfunction lawsuit continues by saying that the medical literature provided by Propecia had significantly changed by 2003 when the percentage noted in the literature changed from the original number of 2% to 1-33%.
In 2006, the Swedish Medical Products Agency began investigating the numerous reports of Propecia sexual side effects that resulted when men stopped using the drug. In 2008, a label change took affect when Merck decided to include a warning regarding the fact that some men had experienced sexual side effects, specifically erectile dysfunction. In August of 2009 the Swedish Medical Products Agency came to the conclusion that Propecia could cause permanent erectile problems. However, the United States Propecia label was not changed until 2011.
Federal Propecia Lawsuits Consolidated into MDL
On April 16, 2012, a U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation chose to consolidate all federal Propecia lawsuits against Merck. As a result, the Propecia (finasteride) lawsuits were moved to the Eastern District of New York and the Honorable John Gleeson was chosen to oversee the Propecia lawsuit MDL.
The Propecia lawsuits that are currently involved in the MDL seek compensation for the following:
* Pain and suffering of their injuries
* Medical expenses
* Economic losses
Additional Propecia Side Effects
In addition to the Propecia sexual side effects listed above, Propecia has also been linked to the following side effects as well:
* Anxiety
* Decreased sperm count
* Depression
* Genital Shrinkage
* Impotence
* Loss of sex drive
* Male breast cancer
* Memory loss
* Prostate cancer
* Testicular pain
Filing a Propecia Lawsuit
Filing a Propecia lawsuit is now easier than ever. If you or someone you know has experienced any of the Propecia side effects, including anxiety, decreased sperm count, depression, erectile dysfunction (ED), genital shrinkage, impotence, loss of sex drive, low libido, male breast cancer, memory loss, prostate cancer, or testicular pain, please visit the Propecia Loss of Sex Drive, Sexual Dysfunction Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Investigation page right away to receive your free consultation from a Propecia lawsuit attorney.
Updated October 25th, 2012
All medical device, dangerous drug and medical class action and lawsuit news updates are listed in the Drug and Medical Device section of Top Class Actions.
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