Parker Waichman LLP

SGLT2 Inhibitors Lawsuit Lawyers

How to Receive FULL Compensation for Your SGLT2 Inhibitor Claim Claims Against SGLT2 Inhibitors. The skilled attorneys at Parker Waichman LLP are experienced attorneys who are currently actively involved in litigating claims against the manufacturers of diabetes medications called sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (or “SGLT2”) inhibitors. These drugs have been linked to dangerous side effects, including […]

How to Receive FULL Compensation for Your SGLT2 Inhibitor Claim

Claims Against SGLT2 Inhibitors. The skilled attorneys at Parker Waichman LLP are experienced attorneys who are currently actively involved in litigating claims against the manufacturers of diabetes medications called sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (or “SGLT2”) inhibitors. These drugs have been linked to dangerous side effects, including kidney disease, ketoacidosis, and conditions requiring amputations. If you took an SGLT2 inhibitor for diabetes and developed one of these injuries, contact our firm today to see if you might be eligible to file a lawsuit.

How Do SGLT2 Inhibitors Affect the Body

SGLT2 inhibitor drugs are used to treat type 2 diabetes, which is a disease in which a person’s pancreas does not make enough insulin to regulate blood sugar. As a result, people with type 2 diabetes have too much sugar in their blood. SGLT2 inhibitors are supposed to help patients control their blood sugar when combined with a balanced diet and exercise.

SGLT2 inhibitors work to control glucose by targeting a protein that acts inside the renal system: the sodium-glucose co-transporter two protein. Normally, when your kidneys filter out waste from your body, the SGLT2 protein allows glucose to be reabsorbed for your body to use as fuel. When this SGLT2 protein is inhibited, or prevented from acting as it would normally, your kidneys send more glucose out of your body with your urine before it can be reabsorbed. By preventing the SGLT2 protein from sending more glucose back into the bloodstreams of diabetic people, SGLT2 inhibitors are  meant to help diabetics gain more control of their sugar levels.

Although SGLT2 inhibitor drugs sound incredibly beneficial, they actually carry numerous risks for serious health complications, including complications that may make common diabetic issues worse. Parker Waichman LLP is filing lawsuits against manufacturers of SGLT2 inhibitors because they did not adequately test the drugs before marketing them, they sold defective drugs to innocent consumers, and they did not provide adequate warnings to the medical community regarding all the risks associated with their drugs.

SGLT2 Side Effects and Injuries

SGLT2 inhibitors can lead to severe medical conditions, some of which can become life-threatening if not timely or appropriately treated. Parker Waichman LLP is investigating and filing claims related to SGLT2 inhibitors and the following conditions:

Urinary Tract Infections

SGLT2 inhibitors have been linked to severe urinary tract infections that can require hospitalizations and lead to conditions known as pyelonephritis (kidney infection) and urosepsis (serious blood infection).

Urinary tract infections can begin with relatively unassuming symptoms, like an increased urge to urinate, a difference in urine smell, or slight pressure while urinating. These symptoms can then quickly worsen to pain and burning with urination, back or pelvic pain, and blood in the urine. These are indications that the infection is progressing, and it could reach the level of kidney infection. Many patients who develop serious urinary tract infections from SGLT2 inhibitors will go on to develop kidney or blood infections that require treatment by hospital admission. If left untreated, these can lead to serious kidney injury or even death.

Diabetic Ketoacidosis

Another risk of SGLT2 inhibitors is diabetic ketoacidosis. Ketoacidosis is a condition in which a person’s body makes too many ketones or blood acids. Ketones are acids released during the breakdown of fat, which can often take place in diabetic patients who do not have enough insulin to use glucose for energy. The muscles will instead break down fat for energy. If too many ketones are released during this breakdown of fat, they can build up and lead to the dangerous condition known as ketoacidosis. Symptoms of ketoacidosis frequently have a rapid onset and will usually include several of the following:

  • Increased or excessive thirst
  • Frequent urination
  • Abdominal pain
  • Weakness and fatigue
  • Shortness of breath
  • Confusion
  • Hyperglycemia
  • Vomiting

A blood test can definitively confirm whether a patient is in ketoacidosis. Ketoacidosis can result in irregular blood sugar, which is especially problematic for people with diabetes, irregular potassium, and brain swelling. If left untreated, ketoacidosis can lead to loss of consciousness and death.

Toe, Foot, and Leg Amputations

People taking SGLT2 inhibitors have a high risk of developing conditions that will require amputation of their toes, feet, or even legs. Because diabetic patients commonly develop narrowed blood vessels and nerve damage (neuropathy), they are prone to issues with reduced blood flow to the lower extremities. This can lead to ischemia (no blood flow to the limbs or digits) and decreased pain sensation.

When diabetic patients develop low sensation in their feet, they have trouble recognizing injuries to their feet, like wounds and ulcers. If blood flow to the feet or toes is completely interrupted, or if ulcers or wounds become advanced and infected, the tissue in the feet and toes can die. At this point, patients can develop necrosis or gangrene for which the only treatment is amputation.

These complications already can occur in diabetic patients, but SGLT2 inhibitors have been found in studies to increase the chances of amputations by almost 50 percent. The alarming link between amputations and use of SGLT2 inhibitors has prompted a response from the FDA, including a black box warning (the strongest possible warning) on at least one brand of SGLT2 inhibitor. Amputations associated with SGLT2 inhibitors are most often of the toes or part of the foot, but both above- and below-the-knee leg amputations have also occurred.

Devastating Injuries with Real-Life Effects

All of the injuries associated with SGLT2 inhibitors have serious effects on the lives of patients and their families. Diabetic patients are an already vulnerable population with many daily health concerns. They already feel like they are in a constant battle to keep themselves healthy. Then the very drug that was supposed to help them ends up causing them further, potentially life-threatening or disabling injuries.

Families have lost loved ones to SGKT2 inhibitor complications, and people have suffered through horrific amputations that leave them immobile, forced to turn to costly and uncomfortable prostheses, and unable to do the things they used to enjoy. A lot of people have lost their jobs, and their lives have been dramatically affected by their medical conditions and loss of limbs.

In addition to the physical aspects of these injuries, families go through tremendous financial loss and extreme emotional distress. Patients can experience post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, phantom limb phenomena, insomnia, and negative effects in their relationships with friends and family. Because of high medical bills and lost income, their families are suddenly strapped to make ends meet, and the injured patients also feel the weight of their families’ hardship.

When you feel like you have nowhere to turn following your SGLT2 inhibitor injury, you can count on Parker Waichman LLP to be by your side and fight for your rights. You deserve compensation for the ways you and your family have suffered, and you deserve to have some peace of mind and stability restored in your life. Contact our SGLT2 Inhibitor lawsuit law firm today to find out more about our SGLT2 inhibitor lawsuits and to see if you might qualify to join our litigation against the manufacturers.

SGLT2 Inhibitor Lawsuits and Settlements

Parker Waichman LLP is aggressively pursuing litigation against several manufacturers of SGLT2 inhibitors because of the drugs’ propensity to cause serious injuries to innocent people. Our firm made national news in January 2018 by filing two lawsuits against Janssen Pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson. Our clients suffered devastating amputations because of their use of the drug Invokana to try to control their type 2 diabetes.

The lawsuits we filed on behalf of our two clients are now pending in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Middlesex County. We have alleged in this lawsuits that Janssen and Johnson & Johnson:

  1. Defectively designed Invokana;
  2. Defectively manufactured Invokana;
  3. Failed to adequately test Invokana before releasing the drug on the market;
  4. Failed to adequately warn doctors about all the risks associated with taking Invokana;
  5. Failed to adequately warn patients about all the risks associated with taking Invokana;
  6. Concealed important safety information from patients and the medical community;
  7. Sold an unreasonably dangerous drug to doctors and patients, and thereby
  8. Caused our clients to suffer serious injuries.

The first of our New Jersey lawsuits filed in January 2018 is on behalf of a 60-year-old client who lives in Alabama and took Invokana for approximately one year. In December 2015, our client was forced to undergo amputation of his left foot. Just one month later, his entire left leg below the knee had to be amputated, as amputation of the foot had not remedied his injuries. His life has been enormously affected by the loss of his leg, and he has endured extreme emotional distress because of these two surgeries.

The second lawsuit we filed in New Jersey in January 2018 is on behalf of a 53-year-old client who lives in Iowa and took Invokana for only eight months before he lost his right leg. In December 2015, our client required a below-the-knee amputation of his right leg because of his Invokana injuries. The loss of his leg has caused our client tremendous hardship, on physical, emotional, and financial levels.

These are just two lawsuits we have filed against one manufacturer. Upon hearing countless stories like those of our two clients above, we knew we needed to begin a thorough investigation of these dangerous diabetes drugs and come to the aid of families experiencing horrific injuries as the consequences of corporate greed. We are joining firms across the country to hold the drug manufacturers accountable through the civil justice system, and our firm is taking a leading, invested role in seeking compensation for victims and their families.

If you or your loved one took an SGLT2 inhibitor and suffered any amputation, contact our law firm today and speak with one of our experienced drug product attorneys about your potential to file a lawsuit against the drug manufacturer.

SGLT2 Inhibitor Brand Names and Manufacturers

The lawsuits we filed in January 2018 (described above) on behalf of two victims with leg amputations were against the manufacturer of the SGLT2 inhibitor brand-name drug Invokana. But there are many other dangerous SGLT2 inhibitors on the market, and Parker Waichman LLP is taking cases on behalf of people who suffered injuries from all of them.

We believe each of these drugs presents serious risks that were purposefully hidden from patients and their doctors. We have homed in on the manufacturer corporations to uncover the deceit and negligence surrounding the design, testing, manufacturing, marketing, and sale of these drugs.

Parker Waichman LLP is actively handling cases involving the following SGLT2 inhibitors currently on the market:

  • Invokana (generic/chemical name: canagliflozin). Invokana is manufactured by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, which is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.
  • Invokamet (generic/chemical name: canagliflozin and metformin). Invokamet is also manufactured by Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Johnson & Johnson.
  • Invokamet XR (generic/chemical name: canagliflozin and metformin extended release). Invokamet XR is also manufactured by Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Johnson & Johnson.
  • Farxiga (generic/chemical name: dapagliflozin). Farxiga is manufactured by AstraZeneca.
  • Xigduo XR (generic/chemical name: dapagliflozin and metformin extended release). Xigduo XR is also manufactured by AstraZeneca.
  • Jardiance (generic/chemical name: empagliflozin). Jardiance is manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly.
  • Glyxambi (generic/chemical name: empagliflozin and linagliptin). Glyxambi is also manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly.
  • Synjardy (generic/chemical name: empagliflozin and metformin). Synjardy is also manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly.

If you took any of the above drugs for your type 2 diabetes and have developed kidney injury, complications from urinary tract infections, diabetic ketoacidosis, or complications requiring amputations, contact our firm today.

SGLT2 Inhibitors: A System of Corporate Greed

When you look at this list of drug names above, you’ll likely make a couple of observations: (1) each of the drug’s chemical/generic names ends in the suffix –gliflozin, and (2) the same manufacturers keep popping up for different drugs.

SGLT2 inhibitors are sometimes referred to as “gliflozins” because they are all made with a basic chemical composition, a particular active ingredient that remains constant across the market. Manufacturers then make small changes and additions in order to create unique drugs they can sell to compete with what’s already on the market. This tends to be done by the same manufacturers, and they often then create new drugs to even compete with their own existing drugs, particularly when patents are about to expire.

The American pharmaceutical industry is dominated by a handful of major corporations, like Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, and Boehringer Ingelheim. Once they understand there is money to be made, the same players will show up to manufacturer a competing drug. Especially when one drug has already overcome the hurdles for FDA approval, several manufacturers will turn out competing versions through a much simpler FDA clearance process known as 510(k) Premarket Notifications. To be able to sell a drug through this process, manufacturers only have to show their new drug is no worse than the predicate drug.

If for some reason manufacturers understand a drug presents serious health risks, they will often perform a risk-benefit analysis, comparing the money they would lose by changing the label and communicating those changes to the public, or by pulling the drug off the market, versus the money they would lose by just paying any potential lawsuits from injured patients. They frequently find it is more profitable to deal with the lawsuits from injuries than to take the steps needed to prevent injuries to patients in the first place. Make no mistake: Many drugs are on the market today not because they enhance people’s lives, but because they make already rich corporations even richer.

Parker Waichman LLP is standing up to this corporate greed and zealously seeking not only fair compensation for our clients’ injuries but also a dramatic shift in the way the American drug industry conducts business. We believe in our clients, and we believe in the power of the judicial system to effect powerful change by holding wrongdoers accountable. That’s why we fight for victims’ rights every day.

SGLT2 Inhibitor Claims Process

If you have been injured or your loved one has been injured because of an SGLT2 inhibitor, contact our office today. You will have the opportunity to talk with one of our experienced staff members who will compassionately listen to your story and help you understand what services we can provide. You will then be able to follow up with a skilled Parker Waichman SGLT2 inhibitor lawyer, whose knowledge and experience will prove invaluable in your case.

When you sign your drug product case with our law firm, we will immediately start the process of investigating your potential claims to present you with options for legal recourse. In doing so, your legal team will perform all of the following tasks on your behalf:

  • Creating a summary and timeline of your SGLT2 inhibitor use, including prescription dates, usage history, and pharmacy information;
  • Drafting a detailed history of your diabetes treatments and your injuries since taking an SGLT2 inhibitor;
  • Obtaining copies of all your pharmacy records to identify which SGLT2 inhibitors you took and who manufactured them;
  • Obtaining medical records that show your prescribing history and your injuries related to your SGLT2 inhibitor use;
  • Determining the deadline for filing any potential claims you have (also known as the “statute of limitations”);
  • Hiring medical and industry experts to review your records and case facts and provide favorable opinions regarding your case;
  • Research any applicable multidistrict litigations (federal case consolidations) or state court consolidations for your case and determine the best place for filing your claim;
  • Drafting and filing a Petition for Damages on your behalf.

These are just a few of the steps we will take leading up to filing your case in court. After filing your claim, we will engage in discovery with the defense, participate in hearings, monitor orders, and scheduling, and facilitate negotiations on your behalf. You can feel confident your team will be prepared and focused on your case every step of the way.

What Kind of Settlement Can I Receive?

While it is important to keep in mind that settlements cannot be guaranteed because of the ever-changing dynamics of complex litigation, we will absolutely guarantee to fight for every dollar you deserve. When we file your petition, we will claim all of the following damages that apply to your case to seek recovery for you and your family:

  • The costs of medical treatment you have received to date because of your SGLT2 inhibitor injuries;
  • The anticipated costs of medical treatment you will require in the future;
  • Lost wages and income you have incurred because of necessary time off work related to your SGLT2 inhibitor injuries;
  • The anticipated lost wages or lost earning capacity you will incur in the future because of your injuries;
  • Damages for “loss of consortium,” which are special damages for the ways your injuries have affected your relationship with your spouse;
  • Compensation for the physical and mental pain and suffering you have experienced because of your SGLT2 inhibitor injuries; and
  • Punitive damages, if the facts and circumstances of your case warrant pursuit of compensation that would carry a punishing effect for the defendant.

When you hire Parker Waichman LLP, your attorneys will make sure we understand the complete extent of your injuries. We want to pursue all possible compensation on your behalf, and we want the defense, the court, and the jury to appreciate the numerous losses you have suffered because of these dangerous drugs.

Parker Waichman LLP is Offering Free SGLT2 Inhibitor Case Consultations

When you contact our office today, you can take advantage of our offer for a free, no-obligation case consultation regarding your potential SGLT2 inhibitor claim. You will be able to speak with a skilled diabetes drug product litigator who will assess the potential of your claim. If you do not want to proceed, or if we find we cannot move forward with your claim, you will never have to worry about receiving a bill.

Remember that state statutes of limitations are in place and apply to any claims you might have, so do not delay in seeking legal representation. Contact Parker Waichman LLP today to receive your free SGLT2 inhibitor consultation and to make sure you have enough time to file a legal claim.

Contact Parker Waichman LLP Today

If you or a loved one took an SGLT2 inhibitor drug for type 2 diabetes and experienced complications such as kidney injury, diabetic ketoacidosis, or amputations of the toes, feet, or legs, contact our firm today by calling 1-800-YOURLAWYER (1-800-968-7529) or by filling out our online form.

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