Medications are intended to help you. So what happens when they do the opposite, or worse? Some consumers were taking blood pressure medications containing Valsartan, and while it worked to lower their blood pressure, it had an extra side effect—cancer. Suffering from a new illness because of a medication that was supposed to improve your health can feel violating.
At Thomas Law Offices, we understand how vulnerable you likely feel for trusting this medication and it harming you in this way. Our Valsartan cancer lawyer is here to help you stand up for your rights. You don’t have to feel alone. We’re here to support you through your claim and ensure you get justice for what you’ve endured.
Medications can be confusing, which is why we’ve broken down what Valsartan is, its dangers, what symptoms it could have caused you, and all the information you’ll need to decide if you can join the Valsartan cancer lawsuit.
Table of Contents
What Is Valsartan?
Valsartan is commonly prescribed as medication for patients with high blood pressure and congestive heart failure. It’s a type of medication called an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB). Angiotensin II is a hormone in your body that when produced, it tightens your blood vessels.
Valsartan blocks this hormone from being detected by receptors, which prevents your blood vessels, like your veins and arteries, from tightening.
To put it more simply, Valsartan works to lower your blood pressure by expanding your blood vessels. With more room in your blood vessels, blood can flow more easily through your body, and your blood pressure reduces.
High blood pressure is dangerous because it can cause serious problems in your body, which is why patients have been prescribed this medication to lower it. When your blood pressure is high for an extended period of time, all that extra work puts stress on your blood vessels and heart.
This extra stress can damage anywhere blood reaches in your body—which is basically everywhere. Your veins, arteries, heart, brain, and kidneys are all major vessels and organs that could sustain damage from consistently high blood pressure. It also increases your risk of stroke, heart attack, and heart failure which is why lowering blood pressure is such an important health priority.
Even though the medication was intended to help consumers, after taking Valsartan, a consumer was diagnosed with cancer and it was linked back to this medication. As it turns out, some Valsartan products had an impurity because they were contaminated with N-nitrosodimethylamine, or NDMA.
Let’s take a look at this NDMA contamination in this medication and how it’s linked to cancer to better understand the Valsartan cancer lawsuit.
The Dangers of Valsartan and Its Links to Cancer
As mentioned above, Valsartan had an impurity of containing NDMA. According to the recall issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Valsartan products have been tested and proved to contain NDMA, which is why many products containing Valsartan have been pulled from shelves.
While not all medications that included Valsartan were recalled, many were because the presence of NDMA posed an unnecessary risk to consumers. The biggest problem with NDMA is that it has been linked to causing cancer.
NDMA does not always cause cancer in humans, but the increased risk is there, which is why people are discouraged from ingesting large amounts. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it’s classified as a probable carcinogen. It likely does this when it enters the liver and produces enzymes that could cause cancer.
Some of the different cancers that NDMA has been linked to after using it for a year are stomach cancer, colorectal cancer, bladder cancer, liver cancer, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, leukemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and multiple myeloma.
Because of this, the FDA released what is considered the maximum amount of Valsartan a consumer can ingest daily. According to their research, the FDA recommends the highest daily dose should be 320 mg/day. This keeps the amount of exposure to NDMA as minimal as possible and keeps patients from ingesting dangerous amounts of this chemical.
You can find a list of all of the recalled Valsartan-containing products as well as the other ABRs recalled, totaling 1,114 products, here. If you’ve taken one of these products and developed cancer that can be traced back to this medication, you could use the help of our Valsartan cancer attorney so you can file a claim.
Signs You’ve Been Harmed by a Contaminated Valsartan Product
After all this information about a recall and the serious side effects this type of medication could have caused you, you’re likely worried that you were harmed, and you want to know the signs of suffering damages from Valsartan. Since this contaminated product was manufactured as far back as 2014, it’s likely that you would know by now if you have negative side effects.
If you took one of the recalled medications and were diagnosed at least one year later, then your cancer diagnosis could be from Valsartan. Additionally, if you took the drug for at least 30 days between 2014 and now, then some other damages could be a result of taking it.
Here are the different cancers and damages that could point to you being harmed by a recalled Valsartan product:
- Liver cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Esophageal cancer
- Gastric cancer
- Intestinal cancer
- Colorectal cancer
- Prostate cancer
- Bladder cancer
- Pancreatic cancer
- Leukemia
- Non-Hodgkins lymphoma
- Multiple myeloma
- Liver damage
If you’ve developed other cancers or experience other health problems after taking this recalled medication, then you still might have a case. Mass litigation can be confusing, which is why our lawyers are here to help. We’ll help you determine if you can join the Valsartan cancer lawsuit and support you every step of the way.
What Are the Details of the Mass Litigation?
At this point, you might be wondering how the NDMA contamination got into the Valsartan products, especially when the medication on its own isn’t known to contain toxic chemicals like NDMA. As it turns out, manufacturers made a change in the production process, which led to it being made with NDMA.
After tests were done, the batches were also found to be contaminated with the toxic chemical N-nitrosodiethylamine, or NDEA. This is also thought to be cancer-causing. Since the manufacturers were the negligent party, affected consumers are taking legal action against them.
Since manufacturers were at fault for this contamination, they are the ones being sued. Here are the pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributers, and other liable parties who are involved in this lawsuit.
- Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.
- Hetero Labs Ltd.
- Prinston Pharmaceutical Inc.
- Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Inc.
- Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.
- Torrent Pharmaceuticals
- Solco Healthcare, U.S. LLC
- Actavis LLC
- Major Pharmaceuticals
- Camber Pharmaceuticals Inc.
- A-S Medication Solutions LLC
- NuCare Pharmaceuticals Inc.
- J. Harkins Company Inc.
- Bryant Ranch Prepack Inc.
- Northwind Pharmaceuticals
- AvKARE Inc.
- RemedyRepack Inc.
- Preferred Pharmaceuticals
These are not the only companies who have fault in this. Some of the complaints implicate pharmacies as well. Walgreens and Throggs Neck Pharmacy have also been cited in the claims and could be held partially liable.
Individual lawsuits from around the country were collected to form a mass litigation in 2019. A date for trial still hasn’t been set, which means a settlement has not yet been reached for these victims. This also means it’s not too late for you to join.
When you reach out to our Valsartan cancer lawyer, they will answer your questions and help you determine if you are able to join the mass litigation against these negligent companies.
What Are the Qualifications to Join the Valsartan Cancer Lawsuit?
Qualifying for joining the Valsartan cancer lawsuit is important when you’re trying to join the mass litigation to get justice. That’s why it’s helpful for you to know exactly what criteria you need to fit so that you can determine whether or not you’re eligible to join the class action lawsuit against Valsartan product manufacturers and companies.
Here are the qualifications you’ll need to meet in order to file a claim to join the Valsartan cancer lawsuit:
- We prescribed the recalled medication
- Took the recalled medication
- One year after taking it, developed one of the cancers listed above
- After taking it for 30 days, experienced other health problems
When you’re proving you qualify, evidence will be crucial. Your medical records will give you firm dates saying you were prescribed one of these specific medications, you filled the prescription, took the medication, and then later you were diagnosed with a connected cancer or another health problem directly linked to the medication.
A bottle of the recalled medication could be useful evidence in your claim as well. Not only are medical records important for proving it was prescribed to you and you suffered from health problems because of it but having the physical bottle of recalled medication that you took offers firm evidence.
Our Valsartan cancer lawyer is here to help you determine if you qualify, collect your evidence, and build your claim so you can get justice for what you’ve been through. You’re already dealing with enough, which is why we’re here to support you.
Statute of Limitations for a Valsartan Cancer Claim
Something to keep in mind here is the statute of limitations. This is how long you have to file a claim after suffering damage from a product or from someone else’s negligence. This varies from state to state, which is why it’s important to have a lawyer on your side.
At Thomas Law Offices, we represent clients nationwide. We have experience fighting for clients who were victims of negligence, and with our knowledge, you’ll be able to rest assured that we determine exactly how long you have to file under the statute of limitations in your state.
Thomas Law Offices Will Represent You
When you’ve been harmed by a medication that you thought was going to help you, you might not know where to turn. Not only did it harm you, but it gave you cancer. At Thomas Law Offices, we understand that this is a vulnerable time in your life—you’re trying to get better while dealing with medical bills and other costs related to what you’ve suffered.
That’s why our Valsartan cancer attorney is here to fight for your rights and get you in on the mass litigation against these companies. You shouldn’t have to suffer on your own. We’ll take care of the legal side of things so you can focus on what really matters—your health and family.
Reach out to our offices today so we can get started working for you.
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