In this article: What is Elmiron? Who makes Elmiron? What is Elmiron used for? Can Elmiron cause blindness? How can Pentosan Polysulfate Sodium (PPS)-Associated Maculopathy be diagnosed? Does Elmiron cause macular degeneration? I am having trouble reading. Is that enough to sue? How does Elmiron cause damage to the retina? Should I get an eye […]
In this article:
Source: Elmiron Lawsuits Discussed by Personal Injury Attorney Jerry Parker, Partner @ Parker & Waichman LLP
Elmiron, also known as Pentosan Polysulfate Sodium (PPS), is an oral heparinoid derived from beech tree bark. It was initially developed in the 1950’s to be used as a blood thinner – similar to Heparin.
Elmiron was the first – and remains the only – oral drug approved by the FDA specifically for the treatment of patients with interstitial cystitis (IC) aka bladder pain syndrome (BPS).
However, Elmiron is not the only treatment for Interstitial cystitis that is available to physicians and patients.
It is also not a first line treatment.
Elmiron is manufactured by bene pharmaChem GmbH & Co., a German company
US marketing and sales entities (Elmiron makers):
Elmiron was approved by the FDA to treat interstitial cystitis (also known as “IC”) or “bladder pain syndrome” (also known as BPS)
Yes, Elmiron can cause blindness, potentially. Elmiron can cause serious and permanent damage to the retina which can result in a loss of vision.
Common Symptoms of Pentosan Polysulfate Sodium (PPS)-Associated Maculopathy:
The misdiagnosis may be:
Target Diagnosis:
Pentosan Polysulfate Sodium (PPS)-Associated Maculopathy can be diagnosed using:
No: Macular degeneration is a common misdiagnosis for the damage to the retina caused by Elmiron
While both forms of macular degeneration involve the retina and cause loss in the center of the field of vision, in dry macular degeneration, the center of the retina deteriorates and with wet macular degeneration, leaky blood vessels grow under the retina. The injury caused by Elmiron is completely different and has a unique – almost “fingerprint-type” presentation on radiology.
No – but that could be indicative of damage to your retina caused by Elmiron
The question is, have you ever taken Elmiron?
Note: The damage caused by Elmiron to your retina can occur long after you have stopped taking Elmiron
Without getting into attorney confidential information, based on the published literature including the Elmiron updated label of June, 2020, many people who have reported Elmiron related damage to their retina:
Yes, if:
Then discuss with an ophthalmologist or retinal specialist, having your retina examined using at least one of the following technologies:
Anyone who has ever taken Elmiron and is suffering from one or more of the following symptoms:
I you experience the above symptoms, you should see a retinal specialist who has the radiological tools to confirm whether there is damage to the retina and if it was caused by Elmiron
The damage to the retina caused by Elmiron is commonly referred to now as a “fingerprint” injury – that is the damages to the retina caused by Elmiron has never been seen prior to its association to Elmiron
Parker Waichman is a law firm that:
The attorneys at Parker Waichman has been involved in dozens of pharmaceutical and medical device litigations over the almost last 4 decades starting with diethylstilbestrol (DES), breast implants, Prozac suicidality cases, Fen-Phen, Zyprexa, Bausch & Lomb Renu with MoistureLoc contact lens solution, Zyprexa, Ortho Evra birth control patch, Yaz birth control medication, Medtronic’s InFuse spinal medical device, TDF drugs and so many more
First, there’s no Elmiron class action lawsuit. A popular misconception in the United States is that these pharmaceutical and medical device cases brought against their respective manufacturers for serious personal injuries and death that they caused are class actions. They are not. With only a very few statutory exceptions there is no such thing in the United States as a class action involving personal injury or death.
Cases against pharmaceutical and medical device companies for serious personal injury or death are commonly referred to as mass torts. They are individually filed cases that are oftentimes consolidated by the court system into a single court to save time and effort by the court system and handling these cases. However, each case is individually filed and remains an individual case.
Elmiron Lawsuit settlement amount will depend on a variety of criteria and personal circumstances.
While everyone’s case is unique from so many different aspects – are you 20 years old or 90 years old, are you working or retired, is sharp vision important in your line of work, is it one eye that is damaged or both eyes, etc. – the loss of vision is a very substantial injury and must be appropriately compensated
At Parker Waichman, when we get involved in litigation, we never plan on a settlement. To do so is distracting and takes away our focus of learning everything we need to know about the science and about our clients.
It is from the power of strength and with the knowledge we gain through discovery and access to the defendants documents, that we can determine and assess the bad conduct of the defendants which factors into the amount of the recovery of our clients
Parker Waichman are taking Elmiron cases under a contingency fee agreement in which Parker Waichman advance the out of pocket expenses of the litigation. These expenses can be very substantial. We only recover a fee if we are successful in obtaining recovery for you by way of settlement or judgment.
However, an advantage that the clients of Parker Waichman have, is that Parker Waichman represents a large number of clients who claim their loss of vision was caused by Elmiron.
What we are able to do many times with the oversight by the court, court appointed special masters or court approved settlement coordinators is that the “global” expenses incurred that benefit all clients, are spread among all the clients in an equitable fashion which greatly reduces the financial effect on all Parker Waichman clients.
Of course, each client is ultimately responsible for the expenses that affect only their case i.e. filing fees, medical records, fees paid to the clients physician and other expenses that benefit only that one client.
At Parker Waichman we generally do not believe the doctor has direct responsibility in cases such as this as they were not warned in any way by the defendants of the possibility of any injury to the eye
At Parker Waichman we generally do not believe the doctor has direct responsibility in cases such as this we believe the doctor was duped just like you were and therefore, absent special circumstances, we will not sue the doctor
You should definitely talk to your doctor about your injury – about your difficulty with your vision and your history of use of Elmiron; as there are non-invasive imaging tests that can easily be performed to diagnose whether your vision problems are caused by Elmiron.
You should not, however, talk to your doctor, of anyone other than your lawyers, about your lawsuit/case since those communications would likely be discoverable by the defendants in your case.
While having to go to court is always a possibility, the % of clients who actually do is much less than 1% of our clients
Of cases that do go to trial, usually after several verdicts the parties get the feel of where the litigation is going and the litigation generally resolves, one way or the other
Your medical bills should be payable by your healthcare insurance, Medicare or Medicaid
While there has not yet been a recall of Elmiron, in June, 2020 the label instructions for Elmiron was significantly changed to warn about the toxicity of Elmiron to the eye
If Elmiron has harmed you or a member of your family and you are interested in filing a lawsuit to recover monetary compensation, contact Parker Waichman by calling 1-800-YOUR-LAWYER (1-800-968-7529) for a free case review today.
