You’ve probably heard about the Statins Class Action Lawsuit. This is the lawsuit where a bunch of seniors who took the FDA approved drug statins to lower cholesterol and lower blood pressure took the drug and began to show significant health related side effects. The drug was approved by the FDA with very little scrutiny given to the possible problems that could arise from long term use. In fact, the FDA literally hand outs approval of drugs to the manufacturers so that no one bats an eyelid at them.
Statins Class Action Lawsuit
This class action lawsuit is currently in the courts waiting for the ruling in the trial that is expected to begin within the next few months. So far, the plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit have lost one court battle and one motion. However, it may not be the end of the story. If the plaintiffs really want to win this case they need to make some major changes to their strategy to increase their chances of success. In other words, they need to get more creative.
The initial class action lawsuit was filed by the Alzheimer’s Association.
Now, they have entered into negotiations with the makers of statins themselves to see if a deal can be worked out whereby they would drop their class action lawsuit. What is interesting about this is that even though the manufacturers are willing to settle, they are not willing to admit they made a mistake and are still pushing forward with their marketing of the drug. In other words, they are using the lawsuits as a scare tactic to bring in new business.
There is no doubt that there are risks involved with taking statins. And there is also the risk that people will develop heart disease, stroke, or a number of other serious health related issues. But, the class action lawsuit concept has been around for a long time and class action lawsuits are a way that people have used to get their day in court and force companies to make changes. And you can bet that the pharmaceutical industry will not want to take any risks with a class action lawsuit that goes into court. This is how they will use these lawsuits to continue selling their products.
So, what is the bottom line here? The bottom line is that there is no doubt that a class action lawsuit can bring about some changes to the way that statins are marketed and sold.
The question then is whether the changes that occur will be enough to keep people from becoming fatally ill from using statins? If this were the case it would certainly help the industry, but it is highly doubtful that it will change the results that pharmaceutical companies want.
In the end, what we are looking at is the possibility that a class action lawsuit will force the company to be more responsible for the health of their customers.
Are we likely to see this in the future or just another lawsuit that the pharmaceutical industry will lose. We do know that the drug companies are still able to produce these drugs, despite the new FDA regulations. This means that we may just see a bunch of people injured and unable to afford healthcare because the states were not recalled and they got on there and used them.
4 comments on “Class Action Lawsuits and the FDA’s recall of statins”
I was prescribed Statin and now feel each day as if rigormortus is setting in. I struggle to walk and arms and hands don’t work well either.. Also, I have a difficulty writing because of the temors. Is there a current litigation?
I am prone to high cholesterol.
I Tom various statins for about 30 years until the crippling pain was too much to bear. At 65, I needed help to stand up.
I finally followed my suspicions and found that I had been suffering from mounting side effects.
I quit. I started to feel better. My doctor was furious. We tried various formulations, all with horrible side effects.
I realized after a few months that I was getting edema from them, too. I’d been taking diuretics in increasing strength for two decades.
I’ve not taken any for over a year now. There’s a new combination treatment that doesn’t include statins. At 71, I feel better than I have for many years.
I’m now 71 and statin free. I’m taking NEXLIZET, which works well and, so far, I’ve had no deleterious side effects.
I’d been taking diuretics for almost the entire time I was taking statins. When I stopped taking the statins, the edema in my feet and legs disappeared.
I was taking such strong amounts of the diuretics that I had to take potassium to counteract the effects of the superfluous medication that I was taking.
Now, at 71, I’m starting to recover my strength and mobility which had been lost.
I am 84 years old, a male and my doctor prescribed Lipitor over a thirty year period. In recent years, I started having extreme weakness in my legs where sometimes I can’t stand up after some activity. It is always in my legs. I read a long time ago about the long-term damage to weakness in the lower part of the body. I am convinced it is caused by this statin drug.