A group of plaintiffs has filed a legal claim against AstraZeneca, alleging that the drugs Nexium and Prilosec caused serious physical injury including permanent kidney damage.

The list of 28 plaintiffs includes people from all over the country, from Missouri to Florida to Washington.

Plaintiff Carmel W. began taking a proton pump inhibitor drug (PPI). As a result of ingesting this PPI drug, the Missouri resident experienced serious injuries.

According to this PPI lawsuit, Carmel alleges that the PPI drugs were defectively designed and inadequately tested. Furthermore, Carmel claims that AstraZeneca failed to give adequate warning about its drug’s serious potential side effects, including the potential for permanent kidney damage.

The plaintiffs who filed this PPI lawsuit raise claims of strict product liability, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, common law fraud, negligence, negligent and fraudulent misrepresentation, breach of express and implied warranties, wrongful death, and survival action.

What are Protein Pump Inhibitors?

Protein Pump Inhibitor drugs, or PPIs, are a method of heartburn treatment that work to reduce the gastric acid in a patient’s stomach.

PPIs like Nexium and Prilosec are some of the most widely used medications in the United States. Indeed, over 15 million Americans were prescribed PPI medications in the year 2013 alone.

However, many of these medications may not adequately indicate the possible serious side effects associated with the drugs. In fact, around 70 percent of these prescriptions may fail to give adequate warning, according to one estimate cited in the PPI lawsuit.

PPI Drug Side Effects

PPI drugs like Nexium and Prilosec have been linked to bone fracture, pneumonia, and Clostridium difficile infection, and serious kidney complications, including permanent kidney damage.

While it is still unclear what causes the kidney problems linked with Nexium and other PPI drugs, one suggestion from a new study is that kidneys might lose their ability to filter blood. This would allow toxins to build up in the body, which can be problematic for a number of reasons.

The risk of permanent kidney damage and other serious complications may be increased if patients use PPI drugs like Nexium or Prilosec more than is medically necessary. Long-term or heavy usage of PPI drugs is more strongly linked with these kinds of severe Nexium kidney injuries.

Unfortunately, millions of Americans may be affected by these risks. In addition to the millions of patients who have taken prescription PPI drugs, an unknown number of consumers has purchased over-the-counter versions of Prilosec and Nexium – making the total number of PPI takers even higher than estimates suggest.

Filing a Nexium Lawsuit

If you or someone you love has experienced excessive PPI drug side effects after using Nexium, Prilosec, or another similar proton pump inhibitor drug, you may be able to file a PPI lawsuit and receive compensation.

The Permanent Kidney Damage Lawsuit is Case No. 4:17-cv-00789-AGF, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.