PPA Lawsuits Updates: PPA Lawsuits Increasing
May 24, 2001
Drug manufacturers responsible for over-the-counter medications containing PPA are preparing for the onset of lawsuits related to the Food & Drug Administration's recent announcement that PPA is linked to hemorrhagic strokes.
The nation's leading drug manufacturers, including such companies as American Home Products Corp., Bayer Corp., Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Novartis Corp., and Schering-Plough Corp, are preparing to defend themselves against litigation over some of their major products. Products containing PPA, also known as phenylpropanolamine, include such popular over-the-counter medications as Dexatrim, Dimetapp, Contac, Alka-Seltzer, Acutrim, Tavist-D, Robitussin and others.
Plaintiffs' lawyers are organizing to file hundreds and maybe thousands of lawsuits on behalf of victims claiming that PPA is responsible for their stroke-related injuries and disabilities. Lawyers have seen an increase in lawsuits following Food & Drug Administration (FDA) recalls and warnings in recent years. Drugs such as fen-phen (diet drug), Redux (diet drug), Rezulin (diabetes), Propulsid (heartburn), and Lotronex (irritable bowel syndrome) have been targets of personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits.
Plaintiffs' lawyers are relying on a study completed in May 2000 by the Yale University School of Medicine, supporting the link between PPA and hemorrhagic stokes. The industry-funded study found that women between the ages of 18-49, who used certain diet drugs containing PPA, had a 16-fold increase in the risk of experiencing a hemorrhagic stroke. Such strokes occur when a blood vessel in the brain ruptures. When the results of the six-year study were announced, FDA pressure forced drug manufacturers to pull products containing PPA off the shelves. In fact, concern about drugs containing PPA dates back to 1981, when a consumer group first warned that the substance was dangerous.
Defense lawyers, however, say that other factors such as age, race, socioeconomic status, and the use of other substances such as oral contraceptives, alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs must also be considered in evaluating PPA-related stroke claims.
-- Article Courtesy of InjuryBoard.com
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