If you or a loved one has been injured or experienced severe side effects after taking an antidiabetic medication, you may be eligible for financial compensation through a diabetes drug lawsuit.
The field of diabetes treatment has exploded in the recent past and many new diabetes medications have been approved in a short period of time. Several of these medications have already caused serious harm and have been discontinued but other potentially harmful diabetes drugs are still being marketed, putting thousands or even millions of patients at risk. Patients who experience severe side effects from diabetes medications may require hospitalization with costly and extensive medical treatments or may be at risk of death.
Patients and loved ones of those who have been harmed or who have died after taking diabetes medications may be qualify for a diabetes drug lawsuit. Medical injury lawsuits may be filed for costs associated with medical treatments, lost wages, future medical treatments, pain and suffering and wrongful death. Past diabetes lawsuits have resulted in settlements of thousands or even millions of dollars in compensation to victims or family members who were harmed by diabetes drugs.
About Diabetes
Diabetes is a medical condition caused by the body’s inability to process sugar correctly. Rather than being used for cellular energy, the sugar, or glucose remains in the bloodstream while the body cells are starved of energy.
Once food is consumed and the nutrients are absorbed, much of the food is converted to glucose. An increase in blood glucose levels will normally, trigger the pancreas to release insulin which is required to transport the sugar into the cells. If the pancreas cannot produce insulin or the body does not respond to insulin, glucose will not be transported into the cells but will remain in the bloodstream and will cause symptoms of diabetes.
High blood sugar can cause a number of symptoms, some of which may quickly become severe. Others effects of diabetes develop over time, resulting in long-term damage to organs like the kidneys, eyes and extremities. Diabetes medications are intended to lower blood glucose levels and increase the body’s ability to use sugar effectively.
There are two different types of diabetes, Type 1 diabetes (insulin-dependent) and Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 is much more common.
Type 1 diabetics do not have functioning pancreatic cells that are needed to make insulin. Type 1 diabetes may also be known as “juvenile diabetes” or “insulin-dependent diabetes.” Most patients are diagnosed in childhood or teenage years, though the disease can develop in adulthood as well. Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong condition and patients will always be required to use insulin replacement medications because the pancreas does not produce any of the necessary substance.
Type 2 diabetes is much more common, affecting one-in-ten people in the U.S. or over 30 million Americans. Over the age of 65, then incidence increases to one-in-four but 10 million or more of those who have Type 2 diabetes may not be aware that they have it.
Experts also estimate that one-in-three Americans are actually at risk and may have “pre-diabetes” which, in many cases may be reversed by lifestyle changes including dietary improvement and weight reduction. Though Type 2 diabetes most commonly occurs in adulthood, as rates of childhood obesity rise, more children are also at risk.
Type 2 diabetics are able to produce insulin but the body may have become “insulin resistant” or the pancreas may not make enough. Most patients with Type 2 diabetes take oral antidiabetic medication but may require more than one type and some must supplement with insulin.
Diabetes Treatment and Drugs
In the last few decades, the number of people with diabetes has skyrocketed. This has resulted in a flurry of new diabetes treatments, many of which have been aggressively promoted by their manufacturers.
The massive increase in numbers of diabetic patients created a large incentive for pharmaceutical development, resulting in several new “classes” or types of diabetes medications – none of which had ever been used before. Most of these new diabetes drugs are used to treat Type 2 diabetes and have been aggressively promoted by their manufacturers.
Though many patients have been successfully treated with the newer diabetes drugs, some of the medications have been found to cause serious side effects. This has resulted in multiple warnings and restrictions to be issued by the Food and Drug Administration for certain drugs and some have already been withdrawn from the market. Many of the medications are still being used however, and may be putting patients at risk.
Diabetes Drug Lawsuits
Thousands upon thousands of diabetes drug lawsuits have been filed against multiple manufacturers due to harm caused by antidiabetic medications. Some of these lawsuits have been settled and patients or family members have received financial compensation reaching into tens of thousands or even millions of dollars.
As many patients may still be at risk, more diabetes drug lawsuits are likely.
New diabetes medication classes have included:
- Biguanides
- Sodium-Glucose Co-transporter type 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors or Gliflozins
- Thiazolidinedione (TZD) or Glitazones
- Glinides or Meglatinides
- Dipeptidyl Peptidase IV (DPP-4) inhibitors or Gliptins
- Alpha-glucosidase Inhibitors
- Glucagon-like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) Agonist or Incretins
- Insulins
Some of the serious side effects have included:
- Ketoacidosis
- Lactoacidosis
- Severe urinary tract infection
- Kidney failure
- Pancreatic cancer
- Liver cancer
- Heart failure
- Heart attack
- Liver failure
- Bone fracture
- Amputation
- Dialysis
- Death
Past diabetes drug lawsuits have included:
- More than 35,000 Rezulin lawsuits filed and settled and drug withdrawn from market in
- Thousands of lawsuits filed against manufacturer of Actos resulting in $2.5 billion in settlements, including one settlement for $9 million.
- Over 50,000 Avandia lawsuits settled for more than $2.3 billion by 2013. Thousands of additional lawsuits filed and drug withdrawn from market in Europe.
The manufacturers of other antidiabetic medications are also facing diabetes drug lawsuits and as millions of patients remain at risk, hundreds of thousands of lawsuits may be expected in the future.
If you or a loved one has experienced severe side effects, required hospitalization or medical treatments or has died after taking an antidiabetic medication, you may be eligible for compensation for your injuries or loss through a diabetes drug lawsuit.
Notwithstanding claims relating to this product, the drug/medical device remains approved by the U.S. FDA.
