Texas Man Argues Levaquin Caused Injury
Further evidence continues to mount in the ongoing struggle between the manufacturers of antibacterial prescription Levaquin and the patients who claim that the medicine is directly responsible for aggravated tendon injuries they suffered while taking it.
Texas resident Kenneth Edward Adams has filed the newest lawsuit against Levaquin makers Johnson & Johnson, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Inc. and Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development as of June 29 of 2010. Adams' central argument is that the Levaquin-induced tendon injury involves the degradation of the tendon tissue, leading to severe and permanent injuries, according to the Southeast Texas Record.
Further, Adams' suit argued that the companies named as defendants have not only failed to disclose information about the potential risks of the drugs in question, but have willfully concealed and misrepresented the dangers of the medicine, downplaying them to the risk of patients. In addition, the suit points to the fact that drugs of a similar class to Levaquin have been repeatedly pulled from the market due to similar dangers.
Adams is requesting a jury trial to hear the case, and the compensations he is demanding are significant. They include just about everything one might expect — compensatory damages, an award of special damages for medical expenses, lost income, permanent disability, permanent instability, lost balance, pain and suffering, triple damages, attorneys' fees, expenses, court costs and interest.
He is making these claims based on the charges of strict liability, negligence, breach of express and implied warranties, fraud, violation of unfair and deceptive trade practices acts, and unjust enrichment. In more simplified language, the case argues that the manufacturers and designers of the drug knew full well the damage the medicine could cause, as evinced by the black-label warning that the FDA required Levaquin packaging to carry, and yet they still implied the medicine was generally safe to take by virtue of still selling it for prescription.
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