Study Shows 25% of Dilantin SJS/TEN Patients Die

Dilantin’s primary use is to treat those with epileptic seizures. However, it is commonly used in hospital emergency rooms as a way to prevent seizures after a head injury occurs. Dilantin works by slowing down the impulses of the brain. In 2011 the legal community viewed the number of SJS and TEN cases caused by Dilantin as relatively low. However, a recent study involving 15 different United States burn centers showed that over 20% of TEN cases had been linked to Dilantin. The study went on to claim that of those cases 25% of the patients died because of these severe Dilantin side effects. It is likely that as more Dilantin users become aware of the potential side effect of developing SJS and TEN that the number of Dilantin lawsuits will continue to increase.  

The History of Dilantin and Its Side Effects

Dilantin was approved by the FDA as an anti-seizure medication and since that time has become a very popular drug on the market today. Pfizer is the current drug manufacture of this medication and the drug has been used since 1936. When something is used for over 70 years it would be pretty easy for a patient to put their trust in that product and perhaps that is why this medication remains so popular today despite the potentially deadly side effects associated with Dilantin.

However, a number of Dilantin lawsuits have been filed due to the side effects it has been known to cause, such as Stevens Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis. When 9-year-old Jesse Nichols Jacobson died of Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) after taking Dilantin for only a month the family filed a Dilantin Stevens Johnson Syndrome lawsuit in the fall of 2010. As a result, Pfizer settled with the family for $3.78 million.

Dilantin Stevens Johnson Syndrome and Dilantin Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis are rare but very severe and, as mentioned above, potentially fatal diseases. They are most commonly identified as causing severe blisters and almost immediately the victim’s skin will begin to look as though it has been seriously burned. Some patients have reported their skin sloughing away in sheets. The patients that do survive have significant medical complications that last for years if not for the rest of their lives. Not only does it affect the skin but it also has long term effects of the eyes as well.

Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN) is like SJS, although it is more severe. Both of these can be triggered by the most common of over-the-counter medications. However, Dilantin has been linked to causing both SJS and TEN as well.  When a Dilantin user develops SJS or TEN there is a great deal of uncertainty about whether that victim will survive or not.

Just over a year ago a number of Dilantin Stevens Johnson Syndrome lawsuits came together to develop a smaller-scale mass tort. As of February of 2011, there had been around 100 Dilantin SJS lawsuits filed by those who had either developed SJS or TEN or by the families of loved one who had passed away due to developing Dilantin SJS or Dilantin TEN. It is expected that the number of Dilantin Stevens Johnson Syndrome lawsuits will rise to 300 lawsuits across the United States before the litigation process is finalized. According to a publication in Lawyers Weekly USA on February 7, 2011, there are not any plans to consolidate the Dilantin SJS lawsuits into a MDL and therefore, the Dilantin plaintiffs would need to proceed on an individual basis.

If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with Stevens Johnson Syndrome or Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis be sure to visit the Dilantin Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) Class Action Lawsuit Investigation today. You will receive a free legal review from a qualified Dilantin Stevens Johnson Syndrome lawyer that will be happy to discuss the details of your potential Dilantin lawsuit.