Taking medication to remedy ailments is the appropriate course of treatment for most patients. Upon receiving a doctor's prescription, you trust that the drugs are well manufactured and will not expose you to adverse side effects. However, some oversights in the production process lead to the release of harmful products in the market.
These products lead to severe reactions among thousands of patients. Elmiron is well known for the treatment of bladder complications. However, numerous complications have been reported among long-term users, including eye injury. If you are a victim facing eye complications after using the drug, you can seek legal assistance and learn how to join a mass tort lawsuit.
At Consumer Alert Now, we provide reliable information on product defects to enlighten affected parties on the nature of side effects. Moreover, we provide reputable legal services for aggrieved persons looking to join a mass tort lawsuit. You will have a great platform to seek redress from the Elmiron drug manufacturers after experiencing severe eye reactions by working with us.
The Background of Elmiron and Its Effects
Janssen Pharmaceuticals is tasked with producing the Pentosan Polysulfate Sodium(PPS) medication, with its commercial name Elmiron. Production and distribution began in the late 90s, paving the way for its widespread use.
Elmiron was designed to treat Interstitial cystitis, a severe condition that affects the victim's bladder walls. If you are diagnosed with the disease, you may experience extreme pain around your abdominal area arising from inflammation. Moreover, the condition may worsen from exposure to adverse conditions in the bladder that could damage the walls.
One of the most common interstitial cystitis symptoms includes pain around the scrotum or penal area in men. This will occur because of the bladder’s proximity, creating discomfort and pain beyond the urethra. Thus, since the urethra is connected to the bladder to allow urine passage, the pain extends to these affected areas.
Secondly, an affected male or female may experience pain during sexual intercourse because your bladder is close to the genitals. Subsequently, the condition may worsen your sexual experience and result in complete discontinuation of having any physical contact with your partner.
Since Interstitial cystitis affects the bladder and its surroundings, patients can not hold their urine in the standard quantities. For example, if you only needed to use the bathroom two to three times in the evening, the condition will reduce your bladder volume. The result is that you will need to pass urine two to three times more than before.
The Role of Elmiron in Treatment
From the various symptoms that patients living with Interstitial cystitis suffer from, Janssen Pharmaceuticals began manufacturing and distributing Elmiron to different locations. It functions by coating the internal bladder structure to prevent exposure to toxic conditions that would worsen the bladder wall damage.
Moreover, when the drug coats the walls, it reduces the prevalence of different symptoms. As a result, your life becomes more manageable from the reduced pain and discomfort.
While Elmiron provides relief for Interstitial cystitis, the manufacturers have failed to disclose vital information about the potential harm to patients' eyesight. Consequently, many complaints have sprung up concerning the drug, leading to the need for legal action against product defects.
You should also note that since Elmiron is the only approved drug for Interstitial cystitis treatment, thousands of patients have used it for long periods. This translates to multiple potential complications from the unreported side effects. The Food and Drug Administration may also be held accountable for approving the drug without proper probes into the harm exposed to patients.
Side Effects Affecting Eyesight After Using Elmiron
Although Elmiron is widely used for treatment, the harmful risks it poses to its users should be highlighted. Some patients report mild symptoms, while others may experience adverse effects after using the medication. You should also note that the severity of your side effect symptoms depends on the duration you have used the drugs for. Thus, prolonged use may increase the risk of suffering significant eye injuries.
The reported injuries include:
Pigmentary Maculopathy
Pigmentary maculopathy is a condition affecting your retina, specifically in the central location. When you suffer from an eye injury, your macular is affected, reducing the eye's ability to react to light accordingly.
One of the most difficult traits that make it difficult to recognize the onset of the condition is that you do not experience any pain. As a result, your eyes' ability to adapt to different light intensities reduces over time and increases the severity of Pigmentary Maculopathy.
A unique attribute to help you recognize a possible onset of the condition is developing a dark spot in your line of vision, particularly when looking ahead. This dark spot may arise from the distortion happening in your macula.
If no treatment is sought, you may notice the dark spot expanding over time, leading to a significant compromise in your vision. However, seeking early treatment may reverse Pigmentary Maculopathy’s effects, coupled with stopping your Elmiron doses.
Additional symptoms to look out for include facing difficulties when reading at night using artificial light. Since the dark spot limits clear vision when looking at something directly ahead, you may also face the same challenge even when using natural sunlight to read.
Moreover, you may begin facing difficulties in looking at items close to you. Nonetheless, the severity of your reduced vision depends on the quality of light around you, as well as the development of the dark spot inside your retina. If you cannot recognize objects presented before you in a medical examination easily, the doctor will likely diagnose you with Pigmentary Maculopathy.
Some patients also have to deal with extreme hallucinations symptoms from the difficulty in adjusting to the light. As the eye condition builds up, your retina will not adapt to light as quickly as a healthy eye. The regressive change in the pupil shape may therefore cause you to observe flashes of light. However, they are not present and are a result of eye damage.
Patients dealing with the condition are also advised against staying in dim or poorly lit rooms because it strains their eyes. Once you begin to notice a significant deterioration in your ability to see comfortably in a dim area, we recommend having an ophthalmologist conduct a medical examination.
Your vision may also dim altogether, instead of having difficulties seeing in poorly lit areas. By this stage, the dark spot may have grown exponentially, leading to a limited ability to absorb light and see clearly.
Blurred Vision
If the drug effects do not cause immediate changes in your retinal cortex, you may begin to observe gradual changes like having blurred vision at intervals. For example, most people will experience blurred vision immediately after waking up as the eyes adjust to the light.
However, the side effects of Elmiron cause a more serious case of blurred vision that becomes persistent and recurrent over time. For example, you may notice a vision change when undertaking routine duties that didn't evoke blurriness before. For example, if you use a computer while at work but only begin having blurred vision after using Elmiron, the medicine could be the main cause of changing eyesight.
Blindness in One or Both Eyes
As mentioned, Elmiron causes a dark spot in the central retinal area, leading to impaired vision. For some patients, the effects begin in one eye and may later develop and affect the other eye. However, some cases also involve bilateral effects, meaning that both eyes will experience damage.
Scotoma
Scotoma is a condition that causes a blurred aura in your eyesight. It is often manifested by color pigmented waves at the corner of your vision scope, especially when exposed to intense light. The symptoms are similar to the aura vision that most patients experience just before a migraine.
While Scotoma is treatable, it may negatively affect your life by reducing your vision quality over time. Additionally, you will have to factor in additional costs for consultations and examinations with your eye doctor.
Night Blindness
Elmiron is also associated with causing night blindness among its users. Most reports reveal that the aggrieved patients had never had night blindness before using Elmiron, meaning that it would likely be the leading cause.
When the condition begins, you may notice a sharp decline in your vision after dark, accompanied by the inability to adapt to artificial lighting like bulbs or beams. Other cases may involve blurred vision that only occurs at night before you lose your sight completely.
Filing a Mass Tort Lawsuit Against Elmiron Manufacturers
If you or a loved one experiences any of the discussed eye injuries after consuming Elmiron for some time, you are entitled to seek legal redress for the product defect. Doing so will help you recover from all the expenses incurred in seeking treatment, on top of the eye damage you may have to live with.
Since Janssen Pharmaceuticals is the only drug company authorized to manufacture Pentosan Polysulfate Sodium medication, no recalls have been declared so far. Consequently, many patients dealing with Interstitial cystitis are still at risk of using Elmiron and experiencing eye injury. Thus, joining a mass tort lawsuit will not only help you recover rightful compensation but will also bring attention to the harmful effects associated with the drug.
After deciding to seek legal action avenues, you can consult experts dealing with product liability to help you join a mass tort lawsuit. Thanks to the expert's help, you will learn of the various requirements to satisfy before the court can accept your claims and consider awarding your damages.
Firstly, you must provide proof of suffering significant eye damage from using Elmiron. The requirement is necessary, as it forms the basis for all other claims you intend to present. Naturally, the court will reject claims unrelated to Elmiron’s side effects, as it may be an attempt to recover compensation unfairly.
Secondly, you should prove that you suffer the same effects as many people who all used the drug. Therefore, working with other parties to the mass tort lawsuit is essential to strengthening your arguments and determining the best strategies against the liable party.
Having a certified document that allows you to join a mass tort lawsuit is also crucial. The officers tasked with issuing the certifications will assess whether you have met the first two requirements before allowing you to join.
Factors for Your Lawyer to Consider when Preparing for the Mass Tort Lawsuit
Upon receiving approval to join a mass tort lawsuit against Janssen Pharmaceuticals for Elmiron defects, your lawyer can begin drafting demand letters and case submissions. While a mass tort lawsuit consolidates many aggrieved parties’ claims, drafting official documents that include your grievances is necessary. This is because the submissions will help keep records of your grievances. Hence, your lawyer may ask you to provide specific information on the following subjects:
The Specific Type of Eye Injury You Suffered After Using Elmiron
When presenting a claim against the harmful effects of the drug, you want to be as specific as possible for the matter to raise substantial issues in court. Moreover, the judge presiding over the mass tort lawsuit may want to learn of the most prevalent effects that patients suffer from after using the drug. Due to this, your attorney will request specific details concerning your injuries.
We recommend providing doctor's reports, imaging reports, and other hospital diagnostic records to prove that you suffered harm. For example, if the doctor diagnosed you with Pigmentary maculopathy, he/she can provide notes on its possible causes and relation to using Elmiron.
Your Medical History
Further, your attorney may ask for your medical history to verify that you did not suffer any eye problems before using Elmiron. Raising this point in your submissions is crucial, as it demonstrates that the drug has caused changes in your health.
Thanks to the documents you provide in support of your medical history, you can also discredit any respondents’ claims. Typically, they may argue that some aggrieved parties already had underlying eye conditions and that it was only a matter of time before they worsened. Since this position will apply to you, you stand a better chance of recovering from the product defect mass lawsuit.
Life Changes Caused by the Eye Injury
Another significant point to raise in your claims is the effects suffered directly from the eye injuries. Your attorney will encourage you to provide details on the negative aspects caused by eye injuries.
For example, you could be unable to work, study, or enjoy life quality because of severe vision deterioration. As a result, you can raise claims like loss of wages and earning potential from the eye injury you suffered.
Additionally, seeking medical treatment may be expensive because of the numerous procedures and tests to undertake. Your position may be more difficult if your medical insurance coverage is insufficient for your entire treatment process. Most patients will face debt or incomplete treatment if their coverages run out, making their lives more difficult.
The drug manufacturing company should be liable to cater to all these costs, as the dangerous side effects are to blame for its plight.
Expected Duration of Treatment
Patients who suffer more severe eye injuries like bilateral blindness will have to undertake extended treatment to restore their eyesight. Sometimes, you may require expensive procedures like laser surgery or invasive treatment that causes discomfort and limited access to good-quality life.
On top of this, recurrent treatment will have financial ramifications on the patient, primarily if treatment is crucial to prevent complete blindness. Therefore, you can include future treatment costs when seeking compensation to ensure that the liable party covers any future encumbrances.
Overall, joining a mass tort lawsuit is advantageous, as you will have a chance to combat Janssen Pharmaceuticals and receive rightful compensation for the eye injury caused by Elmiron. This way, you can work on gradually returning to normal life despite the challenges you have to deal with.
Contact a Product Liability Specialist Near Me
When you begin to notice a dramatic change in your vision after using Elmiron medication, it may be from the adverse side effects associated with the drug. The flagged defects may cause irreversible damage to your eyes, including complete loss of vision. Consequently, your quality of life will deteriorate significantly and create unforeseen disadvantages. Therefore, you need to seek redress for the damages you suffer, including the person's injury to your eyes.
Partner with Consumer Alert Now today to access detailed information on the adversities of Elmiron and how to fight for compensation in court. You can access our services across the country if looking to seek compensation for harm caused due to the product defect. Call us at 800-511-0747 and join a mass tort.
