Drug Lawyer For Prescriptions Causing Cancer in Ohio

Based on recent studies by the federal government and Consumer Reports, approximately half of Americans take at least one prescription medication regularly, and many take multiple prescriptions daily. Considering more than 300 million people live in the U.S., this means hundreds of millions of adolescents and adults are using prescription medications to treat a medical condition or injury.

As one of the millions of Americans who took a drug prescribed by your physician, you expected this medication to help you, not harm you. Yet, there are many medications currently on the market that have been linked to an increased risk of cancer, and they may be connected to your or a loved one’s recent diagnosis.

If you believe that your or a relative’s cancer is connected to a certain drug, call an Ohio drug injury at Kisling, Nestico & Redick at 1-800-HURT-NOW to schedule a free consultation. We are well aware of drugs causing cancer and other serious side effects. We will thoroughly review your situation, including working with any necessary medical experts, and advise you of your rights.

Numerous Medications Have Been Linked to an Increased Cancer Risk

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves drugs after manufacturers show the products are safe and effective and any existing risks are less than the potential benefit to patients. The approval process enables many life-saving drugs to make it to the market. It also means some approved drugs still carry potential risks for patients that could decrease their quality of life and lead to an early death.

Additionally, it is impossible to know certain risks associated with new medications until they have been used by a large number of patients over an extended period of time. That is why issues like an increased risk of cancer and other serious medical conditions may come to light years or decades after the FDA approved the drug.

Certain drugs have been linked to an increased risk of cancer including:

• Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs): This class of drugs, which includes Prilosec, Prevacid, Aciphex, and Nexium, are used to treat heartburn, acid reflux, and ulcers by reducing the creation of acid in the stomach. While they are safe for short-term use, long-term use significantly increases the risk of developing gastric cancer. While researchers do not claim that there is a cause-and-effect relationship, the observed risk is significant enough that patients should be warned against the long-term use of PPIs.
• Diabetes Medications: Certain Type 2 diabetes medications have been associated with increasing the risk of particular cancers. Actos and Farxiga are associated with a greater risk of bladder cancer. In addition, Victoza is linked to thyroid cancer, though this link has not been firmly established. Other diabetes medications, like Onglyza, have been linked to a rise in pancreatic cancer risk.
• Hormone Therapy: Many postmenopausal women choose to go through progestin or estrogen therapy. Progestin in combination with estrogen has been found to increase the risk of invasive breast cancer. Estrogen therapy alone increases the risk of endometrial cancer. Additionally, women who use Clomid, a type of hormone therapy to treat infertility, may have an increased risk of ovarian cancer.
• Immunosuppressants: Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) blockers like Humira, Imuran, Cimzia, and others are used to suppress the immune system, and many come with a Black Box Warning regarding an increased risk of lymphoma and skin cancer. These drugs are often prescribed to individuals who have received an organ transplant or who have MS.

Your Legal Options When Your Cancer Diagnosis May be Linked to a Medication

If you or your physicians believe that your recent cancer diagnosis may be connected to your use of a particular prescription drug, contact us at Kisling, Nestico & Redick right away. When you are harmed by a medication that is supposed to help, you have legal options.

Our experienced legal team will thoroughly review your situation. If there is evidence that you were injured because of a design, manufacturing, or warning defect related to the drug, we will discuss the possibility of filing a product liability case against the responsible party.

If there is evidence that the drug has not been designed as safely as possible or if the manufacturer could have made it safe while it remained effective, then you may be able to file a design defective claim. Moreover, if you were given a drug that was not made up to the standard of its design, then you may have a manufacturing defect claim.

Another common defect is when a drug does not come with the appropriate warnings. If we find evidence that the drug maker knew about the potential increased risk of cancer and did not include this information with the medication, then we may file a lawsuit based on a warning defect.

During a product liability claim, we will help you pursue compensation for your medical expenses including your ambulance rides, travel expenses, hospital stay, procedures, medications, and physical rehabilitation. In addition, we can help you recover for lost wages, disfigurement or disability caused by cancer, physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium.

Contact an Ohio drug injury lawyer today to learn more about what damages you could recover when a drug caused you cancer.