Elmiron Lawsuit Filed Over Vision-Related Injuries, Including Macular Degeneration

Side effects of the interstitial cystitis drug Elmiron allegedly caused a Kentucky woman to suffer permanent vision damage and macular degeneration, according to a product liability lawsuit recently filed against Johnson & Johnson and its Janssen Pharmaceuticals subsidiary.

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Jeanette Milburn in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky on January 29, indicating the drug makers withheld information for years from consumers and the medical community about the link between Elmiron and vision-related injuries.

Elmiron has been marketed for decades as a safe and effective treatment for interstitial cystitis, which is also commonly referred to as “painful bladder syndrome”. Although a growing number of case reports and published findings suggested side effects may result in macular degeneration and pigmentary changes in the retina, the drug makers did not provide any warnings on the Elmiron label until last year.

As a result of the failure to warn, many doctors were unaware Elmiron was causing users to experience a variety of vision complications, including difficulty adjusting to dark light, trouble reading, centralized dark spots and complete blindness. As a result, users were often kept on the medication for years, unaware that it was having a toxic effect on the retina.

According to the lawsuit, Milburn began taking Elmiron in 2007 for the treatment of bladder pain caused by interstitial cystitis, and she continued to take the drug until 2019, despite experiencing a number of vision-related side effects.

“On approximately October 27, 2016, Plaintiff first reported to her treating Optometrist seeing mild but annoying flashes of light in the right eye for a period of 3 days,” the lawsuit notes. “Subsequent tests by Plaintiff’s Ophthalmologist led to Ms. Milburn being diagnosed with vision-related injuries, including, but not limited to, retinal hemorrhage and macular degeneration.”

The lawsuit indicates Milburn did not know her vision problems could be linked to the medication until last year, when Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals added new warnings about Elmiron vision risks, which now advise doctors to closely monitor for vision problems or retinal pigmentary changes.

Milburn now joins a growing number of former users pursuing an Elmiron lawsuit over vision-related injuries which may have been avoided if earlier warnings had been provided.

Given common allegations raised in dozens of complaints brought throughout the federal court system, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) established consolidated pretrial proceedings last month, centralized the cases before one judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. As Elmiron lawyers continue to review and file claims in the coming months and years, it is expected several hundred, if not thousands, of similar complaints may be brought on behalf of former users nationwide.