Levaquin, Avelox Peripheral Neuropathy Lawsuits Centralized in District of Minnesota
A panel of federal judges has established centralized pretrial proceedings for all Levaquin lawsuits, Avelox lawsuits and Cipro lawsuits filed in U.S. District Courts nationwide that involve claims for peripheral neuropathy stemming from the popular antibiotics.
In a transfer order (PDF) issued on August 17, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) indicated that at least 78 currently pending complaints, as well as any future lawsuits filed by users of the antibiotics who suffered nerve damage, will be consolidated before U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.
Levaquin, Avelox and Cipro are all part of the same class of antibiotics, known as fluoroquinolones, which have been linked to a risk of debilitating nerve problems, known as peripheral neuropathy. Each of the complaints allege that the drug makers failed to adequately warn users that the peripheral neuropathy side effects may continue long after the medication is no longer used.
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Learn MoreGiven the similar questions of fact and law, the cases have been centralized to reduce the risk of duplicative discovery into common issues, avoid conflicting pretrial orders from different courts and to serve the convenience of the parties, witnesses and the courts.
During oral arguments heard late last month, the drug makers opposed centralization of the cases, arguing that there were too many different drugs involved in the litigation and too few cases to justify establishing formal coordinated proceedings. However, the U.S. JPML rejected those positions.
“Even if additional actions are not filed, the present number of cases, districts and involved counsel warrants centralization, especially considering the complexity of the issues presented,” the judges ruled.
Judge Tunheim previously presided over several thousand lawsuits filed over tendon ruptures from Levaquin, most of which settled in 2012.
All of these new cases stem from strengthened warnings required by the FDA in August 2013, in which the makers of all fluoroquinolones were required to provide information about the long-term risk of peripheral neuropathy from the antibiotics, indicating problems may last for months or years after an individual stops taking the drug.
Peripheral neuropathy involves damage to the nerves that may impair sensation, movement and other aspects of health. This may leave users with persistent pain, burning, tingling, numbness, weakness and sensitivity to light touches, temperature and motion in the arms and legs, as well as other problems that cause a major disruption to daily activities.
Lawsuits allege that prior warnings provided with Levaquin, Avelox, Cipro and other similar drugs misleadingly suggested that reports of peripheral neuropathy among users were rare and that the nerve problems resolve when the medications are no longer used. The new label warnings indicated that the problems could be permanent and urge doctors to consider switching patients to a different class of antibiotics if they experience symptoms of peripheral neuropathy.
The first indication of a possible link between long-term peripheral neuropathy and fluoroquinolone antibiotics came in a study published in 2001, which highlighted reports of 45 patients who suffered persistent peripheral nervous system damage. Plaintiffs maintain that if adequate warnings had been provided about the risk of permanent neuropathy problems, they may have avoided painful and debilitating injuries.
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9 Comments
SallyAugust 20, 2015 at 7:46 pm
Severe, I mean rip your muscle out of your leg, cramping. The words "Charlie Horse" don't begin to describe this cramping. Very little sleep due to the cramping. Constant fasciculations in the legs, dry eye, visual disturbances where one wakes up in a new world everyday vision-wise, and lots of muscle pain. Suffered a ligament tear in my hip. That's how being "floxed" has affected me. I retired[Show More]Severe, I mean rip your muscle out of your leg, cramping. The words "Charlie Horse" don't begin to describe this cramping. Very little sleep due to the cramping. Constant fasciculations in the legs, dry eye, visual disturbances where one wakes up in a new world everyday vision-wise, and lots of muscle pain. Suffered a ligament tear in my hip. That's how being "floxed" has affected me. I retired before I was ready due to these issues.. Just glad I had the option open to me. All due to one bad year of mulitple treatments with Cipro for diverticulitis and concomitant use of Celebrex, tizanidine, and steroid injections.
ElizabethAugust 20, 2015 at 6:03 pm
Thank you, Mr. Kirk, for writing this report. I have been immersed in this surreal world of fluoroquinolone toxicity since I found out from a dying friend a year ago that I, also, had been "floxed" by levaquin over four years ago. It is unreal, the pain and suffering people are going through, like horror science fiction, only worse and very real. People are living in sheer torture and terror be[Show More]Thank you, Mr. Kirk, for writing this report. I have been immersed in this surreal world of fluoroquinolone toxicity since I found out from a dying friend a year ago that I, also, had been "floxed" by levaquin over four years ago. It is unreal, the pain and suffering people are going through, like horror science fiction, only worse and very real. People are living in sheer torture and terror beyond imagination due to the damage caused by these drugs, sometimes just one. Your story will save lives.
debbieAugust 20, 2015 at 5:49 pm
I too have been taken down by these horrid antibiotics and have been suffering 24/7 for 2 1/2 years with no relief from multiple horrid adverse reactions.periphiral neuropathy,tendon tears/pain,muscle wasting/pain,vision,issues,brain fog/insomnia,IBS issues,removal of damaged organs just a few of my issues.i was not warned of the black box warnings or of the possible permanent adverse reactions th[Show More]I too have been taken down by these horrid antibiotics and have been suffering 24/7 for 2 1/2 years with no relief from multiple horrid adverse reactions.periphiral neuropathy,tendon tears/pain,muscle wasting/pain,vision,issues,brain fog/insomnia,IBS issues,removal of damaged organs just a few of my issues.i was not warned of the black box warnings or of the possible permanent adverse reactions these drugs could cause.please educate yourself on fluoroquinolone toxicity syndrome as anyone can be struck down from them and can happen with just one dose,there is no magic treatment to help you once it has it's grip on you.
CorifloxitoxifoxAugust 20, 2015 at 4:12 pm
My young healthy life was destroyed by two german doctors that prescripd fluoroquinolones for virus infection. Doctors don't care. Big Pharma does not care. They poison the world population and nobody cares, and perhaps at the moment, it is only 20 percent crippled by fluoroquinolons or other quinolons, but in 10 yrs, 50% of people will only hobble around or roll in a wheelchair. They turn the ear[Show More]My young healthy life was destroyed by two german doctors that prescripd fluoroquinolones for virus infection. Doctors don't care. Big Pharma does not care. They poison the world population and nobody cares, and perhaps at the moment, it is only 20 percent crippled by fluoroquinolons or other quinolons, but in 10 yrs, 50% of people will only hobble around or roll in a wheelchair. They turn the earth into a zombie planet.
Quinolone Vigilance FoundationAugust 20, 2015 at 3:25 pm
The Quinolone Vigilance Foundation wishes to thank all of the lawyers who are taking cases for the damage fluoroquinolone antibiotics are causing and all of the victims of these drugs for coming forward to demand justice.. Avelox, Cipro, and Levaquin are associated with very severe adverse reactions and patients are not being properly warned of the risks because they are hidden under confusing lan[Show More]The Quinolone Vigilance Foundation wishes to thank all of the lawyers who are taking cases for the damage fluoroquinolone antibiotics are causing and all of the victims of these drugs for coming forward to demand justice.. Avelox, Cipro, and Levaquin are associated with very severe adverse reactions and patients are not being properly warned of the risks because they are hidden under confusing language, downplayed, or absent altogether. Adverse reactions can occur immediately, or even days, weeks, months, or longer after stopping the medication. Affects can be permanent. A comprehensive list of adverse reactions and the names of brand name and generic fluroquinolones can be found on our website www.SaferPills.org. There are countless people around the world who went to their doctor or hospital, were given an antibiotic to help them feel better, and ended up injured, disabled, and even worse, dead. This is not acceptable. Victims of these dangerous antibiotics deserve justice and the makers of these antibiotics should be held responsible for not properly warning the public. There needs to be accountability and there needs to be a better system in place to accurately and honestly place proper warnings on medications which injure, disable, and kill untold numbers of victims worldwide.
McCarthyAugust 20, 2015 at 2:20 pm
Beware fluoroquinolones! Permanent nerve damage! Lives altered! Some recover. Many do not.
Valerie JeanAugust 20, 2015 at 2:09 pm
My reaction was 3 years ago and life has never been the same. ON-GOING ISSUES: neuropathy; tendinopathy; myalgias (deep muscle pain), musculoskeletal pain/muscle weakness/muscle wasting; inability to perform with endurance and duration for my age; FREQUENT ISSUES THAT COME-AND-GO: anxiety; insomnia; confusion; skin rashes/dry patches; electrical zaps/shocks/deep stabbing sensations; head pressur[Show More]My reaction was 3 years ago and life has never been the same. ON-GOING ISSUES: neuropathy; tendinopathy; myalgias (deep muscle pain), musculoskeletal pain/muscle weakness/muscle wasting; inability to perform with endurance and duration for my age; FREQUENT ISSUES THAT COME-AND-GO: anxiety; insomnia; confusion; skin rashes/dry patches; electrical zaps/shocks/deep stabbing sensations; head pressure/squeezing feeling; ringing in ears (tinnitus); heart palpitations/racing/skipping a beat/tightness/shortness of breath. I wasn't even sick when my Rx was prescribed. Being seen for an annual renewal of seasonal allergy Rx, and my doc decided she wanted to "clean up my system" and then re-do allergy testing. 4 pills that changed my life forever!
MarkAugust 18, 2015 at 8:28 pm
Thanks for your continued coverage of the fluoroquinolone cases, it helps those of us in the fluoroquinolone community to know what is going on. The pharmaceutical industry is hardly a fountain of information for those they have harmed, and in this case the number of people they have harmed is HUGE, but 99.9% of them have no idea what went wrong; after all, who thinks of an antibiotic they took we[Show More]Thanks for your continued coverage of the fluoroquinolone cases, it helps those of us in the fluoroquinolone community to know what is going on. The pharmaceutical industry is hardly a fountain of information for those they have harmed, and in this case the number of people they have harmed is HUGE, but 99.9% of them have no idea what went wrong; after all, who thinks of an antibiotic they took weeks, months, even years before when their tendons rupture or they get neuropathy or they develop mysterious cartilage lesions or they get intense anxiety or blood clots or bone spurs or photo-sensitivity or their nails fall off or grow wierd or their bones break for no reason or their teeth crumble or they get severe headaches and confusion or twitches and tremors or mystery bruises or muscle weakness or chronic fatigue or sudden weight loss or chronic diarrhea or loss of bladder control or hair loss or nasty rashes or a funky smell or low oxygen counts or insane insomnia or multi-chemical sensitivity or vivid nightmares or arrhythmia or fluctuating blood pressure or food intolerances or wild mood swings or really bad breath or double vision or floaters or detached retina or tinnitus or broken blood vessels or ligament problems or slipped discs or bloody noses or a hernia or altered perception of time or brutal calluses or stomach pain or pulmonary edema or joint pain or dry mouth or chemical taste or numbness and tingling or sweat malfunctions or phantom pain that comes and goes or any of hundreds of other "symptoms" of fluoroquinolone toxicity. These drugs penetrate into every part of our bodies, which is great for the one in a thousand of us who actually has a bone marrow or brain infection, or some other life threatening problem, but for the rest it just means the possibility of horrific damage from head to toe, often lifelong and sometimes fatal. It also leads to a misdiagnosis like fibro or ALS or MS or Parkinson’s or any of a hundred other wrong diagnoses. The average doctor leaves a giant swath of carnage in his or her wake, oblivious to the fact that they are wreaking havoc in people’s lives and causing most of the problems their patients will return to get treated for some time in the future, but even if it’s right away, they will still discount the possibility that they could have caused it and will instead prescribe more drugs to treat the “symptoms” of the adverse reaction they caused. This is how Americans end up on so many drugs, and BIG PHARMA is laughing all the way to the bank. They are floxing us on purpose to sell us more drugs and telling doctors these drugs are the gold standard in safety. That is why we can’t get our doctors to listen to us and why you have probably never heard of this. If you have suffered any of the symptoms I listed and you have taken Levaquin, Cipro, Avelox, Floxin, Tequin, Factive or any antibiotic ear drops or eye drops then you should join us in Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Group, the biggest and busiest of many different groups that work together to support the FQ community. You owe it to yourself to google some of the terms here to see how big this problem really is. Fortunately there has finally been an upturn in newscasts and articles and rulings and lawsuits all moving things in our direction. We are winning! Best wishes to all! https://www.facebook.com/groups/floxies/
HeatherAugust 18, 2015 at 3:38 pm
I am disabled since use of levaquin. Numerous health issues since taking, including peripheral neuropathy.