Diovan Lawsuit

A Brief Guide to filing a Diovan lawsuit

Famous Diovan Lawsuits:

The prescription medication Diovan is administered to patients with heart problems. While intake of a Diovan dosage has not been linked to significant health risks, litigation has been filed against parent company Novartis.

In 2010, Novartis agreed to a $422 settlement with the United States Justice Department as part of a larger legal action concerning other medications. The Justice Department charged Novartis with spending money to encourage physicians to prescribe the medication for non-FDA-approved purposes. It is not illegal for a physician to issue a Diovan dosage or any other medication for a so-called "off-label" purpose; however, spending money to market such uses is illegal and was therefore the subject of this famous Diovan lawsuit.

In 2011, Novartis issued a voluntary recall of one batch of its Diovan dosage because some bottles were thought to contain Diovan HCL, a related but dissimilar medication. The company explained that the risk of Diovan side effects from taking the incorrect medication would be severe. After the recall was completed, there was no report of any Diovan lawsuit pursued by patients taking the incorrect medication from the recalled batch.

Diovan Side Effects:

Among the known serious Diovan side effects is harm to a fetus. Women who use a Diovan should be advised to discontinue treatment if they plan on becoming pregnant. The drug’s warning label and associated information clearly states the risks associated with pregnant users. This warning ultimately protects Novartis from litigation as it clearly warns the user of side effects associated with pregnancy.

Other common side effects of Diovan include:

• Dizziness: experienced by 17 percent of patients

• Increase in potassium levels: experienced by 4.4 percent of people

• Cough: experienced up to 2.6 percent of people

• Fatigue: experienced up to 2 percent of people

• Stomach Pain: experienced by up to 2 percent of people

No significant Diovan lawsuit has been reported besides the aforementioned Justice Department litigation. If anyone has sought compensation for Diovan side effects through litigation, compensation was affirmed in a private matter.
If you wish to consider a Diovan lawsuit, you must consult with a qualified pharmaceutical attorney. When meeting with legal specialists, you must have all medical documents and papers ready to document your conditions or injuries sustained. An attorney will be able to evaluate whether a Diovan dosage can be definitively linked to your health problems. However, at this time the success of any such Diovan lawsuit is unlikely.

Diovan FDA Warnings:

The United States Food and Drug Administration provides the following information concerning patient use of Diovan:

- "Tell your doctor about all your medical conditions including whether you:"

- "have ever had a reaction called angioedema, to another blood pressure medicine. Angioedema causes swelling of the face, lips, tongue and/or throat, and may cause difficulty breathing."

- "potassium supplements. Your doctor may check the amount of potassium in your blood periodically"

- "a salt substitute. Your doctor may check the amount of potassium in your blood periodically"

- "certain antibiotics (rifamycin group), a drug used to protect against transplant rejection (cyclosporin) or an antiretroviral drug used to treat HIV/AIDS infection (ritonavir). These drugs may increase the effect of valsartan."

Sources:

1. http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/ucm169673.htm

2. Diovan United States National Library of Medicine retrieved from:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001001/

3. http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/ucm153825.html