Visitor Question

Systemic side effects from lucentis eye injections for macular degeneration…

Submitted By: Gloria (Norfolk, VA)

I received approximately a year of monthly Lucentis eye injections in my right eye after getting wet macular degeneration when I had cataract surgery. After a couple of injections I started getting a lot of systemic side effects: constant sinus infections, severe stomach pains and eventually had stomach cancer.

I still get endoscopies and have bloating gas, gastroparesis, and irritable bowel syndrome. Do I have a case against the drug company? What do I need to do to establish my case? Thank you for any direction you can provide.

Disclaimer: Our response is not formal legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is generic legal information based on the very limited information provided. Do not rely upon the information in our response, or anywhere else on this site, when deciding the proper course of a legal matter. Always get a personalized case review from a local attorney.

Answer

Dear Gloria,

According to our research, we were unable to find any instances of stomach cancer resulting from the drug Lucentis. According to the Lucentis Official website, side effects of Lucentis can include:

“Inflammation inside the eye and, rarely, problems related to the injection procedure, such as cataracts. These side effects can make your vision worse. The most common eye-related side effects are increased redness in the white of the eye, eye pain, small specks in vision, and increased eye pressure. The most common non–eye-related side effects are nose and throat infections, headache, lung/airway infections, and nausea.”

Because of the serious nature of your illness, you will need the advice and counsel of an experienced personal injury attorney. Fortunately, most injury attorneys do not charge for an initial office consultation.

If you can find an attorney to accept your case, you must be prepared for a prolonged battle, possibly lasting for several years. Drug companies vigorously defend claims against them for defective drugs. To lose would invite thousands of lawsuits, possibly resulting in billions of dollars in settlements or court verdicts for those adversely affected by the drug.

In the event you can find an attorney to accept your case, the legal theory relied upon will that of product liability. Learn more about product liability cases here.

Possible defendants can include:

– Manufacturer of the drug – Physician who prescribed the drug to you – Laboratory where tests were performed on the drug – Pharmaceutical representative who sold the drug to the pharmacy – Physician who prescribed and injected the medication

In many instances, class actions are filed against drug companies. Class actions are lawsuits filed by one or more law firms against companies which manufacture defective products resulting in injuries to many consumers (patients).

Because of the expense required in pursuit of a class action, most law firms seek out multiple victims – sometimes ranging in the thousands – to join or “opt in” to the class action. For a victim, this means he or she will not have to pay any costs of the lawsuit, and will share proportionality in any settlement or court verdict.

Learn more here: Compensation for Dangerous Drug Side Effects

The above is general information. Laws change frequently, and across jurisdictions. You should get a personalized case evaluation from a licensed attorney.

Find a local attorney to give you a free case review here, or call 888-972-0892.

We wish you the best with your claim,

Published:

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