A widow in Maryland has filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of her husband who died after taking a testosterone drug called Testim. The lawsuit alleges that the man died from a low testosterone induced heart attack that was due to taking the drug. This lawsuit is actually one of several across the country that are being filed against testosterone products.
According to the lawsuit, the drug company, Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, did not warn consumers that use of the drug had increased risk of stroke, heart attack, and blood clot complications. The lawsuit is alleging that the company used aggressive and misleading marketing that misrepresented the potentially dangerous side effects. The lawsuit also asserts that the victim never would have taken the drug if he had been warned about the potential side effects.
Testosterone Drug Risks
This lawsuit is actually joining others in multi-district litigation because there are so many similar lawsuits across the country. If what these lawsuits allege is true, the drug companies have been vastly underselling consumers on the dangerous risk associated with these drugs. In fact, two studies have come out in the last two years that suggest that these drugs are uniquely risky and dangerous. The one that was published in 2013 found that older men who took the drug were more than 30% more likely to suffer from stroke, heart attack, and death. The 2014 study found that the drugs presented similar risks to young men who have cardiac conditions.
With this new research coming out, many are wondering if these drug companies were always aware of the deadly side effects presented by the low testosterone drugs. For years, these drugs have been marketed to older men and have promised to help them with fatigue, loss of energy, and loss of libido. To many users, the advertising seemed to suggest that they would feel younger when taking the drug, and because the ads did not mention serious side effects, the users thought that they were very safe to use.
Although use of most of these drugs requires a prescription, doctors were also unaware of the real risks, so older men who were most at risk were still able to get prescriptions for low testosterone drugs. If doctors had been aware of these risks, it is likely they would have not offered prescriptions to older men who were already at risk for heart problems.
Get an Experienced Attorney
If you have been using low testosterone drugs and have been suffering from heart problems, you should immediately consult with your doctor and see if it could be related. If you do believe that your health problems have been directly caused by the use of a drug, you should get in contact with a lawyer and see if you could potentially file a product liability suit.
Our attorneys have years of experience helping clients with all types of personal injury law. If you have any questions or need representation, please give us a call. If we don’t specialize in the law you need, we can refer you to someone who is qualified.
