Trial lawyers with the Lanier Law Firm have filed a $10 million lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson, its Janssen Pharmaceuticals subsidiary, and other parties on behalf of a New Hampshire woman who suffered eye damage after long-term use of the drug Elmiron, prescribed for bladder pain.
The product defect suit filed Jan. 10 joins more than 600 similar claims consolidated in multidistrict litigation (MDL) in New Jersey federal court on behalf of patients who suffered retina damage and vision problems after using Elmiron for treatment of interstitial cystitis, which causes chronic bladder pain.
“J&J and Janssen looked the other way when reports started coming in about Elmiron’s dangers,” said Houston trial lawyer Mark Lanier, founder of the Lanier Law Firm, who serves on the Elmiron MDL plaintiffs’ executive committee. “We’re looking forward to asking a jury to hold the company accountable and to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.”
According to the lawsuit, Janssen was aware of reports soon after Elmiron went on the market in 1996. Clinical studies starting in 2018 documented a link between Elmiron’s key ingredients, pentosan polysulfate sodium or PPS, and a condition known as pigmentary maculopathy. Yet a warning label was not placed on the drug until 2020.
PPS is the only known cause of pigmentary maculopathy, which is often misdiagnosed as age-related macular degeneration or pattern dystrophy. Side effects include dark spots in the vision field, difficulty reading or adjusting to dim lighting, loss of color perception, persistent eye strain during reading and other activities, blurred vision and blindness.
The injuries suffered by Beverly Frizzell were “preventable and resulted directly from Defendants’ failure and refusal to conduct proper safety studies, failure to properly assess and publicize safety signals, suppression of information revealing serious risks, willful and wanton failure to provide adequate instructions, and willful misrepresentations concerning the nature and safety of Elmiron,” the lawsuit states.
The case is In Re: Elmiron MDL No. 2973.
About the Lanier Law Firm
For more than 30 years, the men and women at The Lanier Law Firm have worked tirelessly, throughout the United States, to find unique and effective solutions for their clients. More than 60 skilled attorneys practice law in a broad array of areas, including business litigation, pharmaceutical litigation, asbestos exposure, oil and gas litigation, personal injury as well as defective and dangerous products, among others. Named an Elite Trial Law Firm by The National Law Journal, The Lanier Law Firm has offices in Houston, New York and Los Angeles. To learn more visit https://www.lanierlawfirm.com
