Distasio Law Firm’s experienced mass torts attorneys are here to help Florida residents bring Elmiron lawsuits. We believe Janssen Pharmaceuticals, the maker of Elmiron (also known as Pentosan) should be held accountable for injuries caused by the drug. Typical long-term side effects include a type of eye damage called maculopathy, which involves retina damage and potentially leads to blindness.

To see if we can help you initiate a Florida Elmiron lawsuit, give us a call or fill out a contact form on our website. It’s free, and if we take your case, you owe us nothing unless we recover damages on your behalf.

If you or someone you love suffered injury or damage from taking Elmiron, or any form of pentosan polysulfate sodium, the time to bring a claim and hold Janssen accountable may be limited. Let our dedicated attorneys evaluate your case before it’s too late.

What Can a Florida Elmiron Attorney Do for Me?

A knowledgeable Florida Elmiron lawsuit attorney can listen to what happened to you and determine whether you have a claim. If you have a claim, the lawyer will gather your medical records, review them, hire appropriate medical experts, perform an investigation, and do whatever is necessary to prove your case.

Oftentimes, a case can be resolved without filing an Elmiron lawsuit in Florida. However, if necessary, a lawsuit will be filed to protect your rights. In the end, the goal is to compensate you for the damages caused by taking a dangerous drug. Those damages may include increased medical expenses, lost wages, and loss of enjoyment of life.

What Is Elmiron?

Elmiron is the brand name for a medication called pentosan polysulfate sodium. It is used to treat the pain associated with osteoarthritis. It is also used to treat a condition called interstitial cystitis. It is the only medication the FDA has approved to treat this condition, and it has been on the market since 1996.

Interstitial cystitis (IC) is a disease that causes inflammation of the bladder. The inflammation associated with IC, also called “painful bladder syndrome,” causes severe bladder pain. Elmiron eliminates or reduces this bladder pain and/or discomfort.

Although Elmiron appears to work, it can also cause eye damage as a side effect. Pentosan lawsuit lawyers allege Janssen knew the drug would cause eye disease but decided to sell it anyway without warning people of the risk.

What Damage Can Elmiron Cause?

Studies have linked Elmiron (Pentosan) to severe eye disease. Since 1996, the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) has documented 68 complaints of eye damage called maculopathy.

In 2018, doctors reported in theAmerican Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) that their patients were suffering from pigmentary maculopathy after chronic exposure to Elmiron. In 2019, there was an update that additional patients were suffering from eye damage after exposure to pentosan polysulfate sodium (Elmiron). In 2020, a study found choroidal neovascularization associated with pentosan toxicity.

Currently, it is thought that Elmiron may cause the following eye disorders:

  • Macular degeneration
  • Pigmentary maculopathy
  • Retinal maculopathy
  • Retinal Pigmentary Endothelium Injury

There are several common symptoms that may indicate you may have an eye condition associated with taking Elmiron. Eye symptoms include:

  • Blindness
  • Blurred vision
  • Distorted vision
  • Difficulty reading
  • Eye pain
  • Trouble with eyes adjusting to dim light
  • Trouble reading
  • Prolonged dark adaptation
  • Glare
  • Blind spots
  • Metamorphopsia (straight lines appearing wavy or blank)

Imaging tests that may confirm eye damage include:

  • Fundus autofluorescence (FAF) Imaging
  • Near-infrared Reflectance (NIR)
  • Optical Coherence tomography (OCT)
  • Heidelberg Multicolor

Elmiron Lawsuit Allegations

Drug manufacturers have a duty to understand the potential side effects of their medication. They do this by studying its use through clinical trials. They also do this by following up with patients that are on the medication to see what side effects they report.

Once a drug manufacturer becomes aware that their medication can cause a side effect, they have a duty to warn physicians and patients of the issue. They warn through published labeling and prescribing information inserted into the packaging.

According to the current Elmiron lawsuits in Florida, Janssen pharmaceuticals knew through its monitoring programs that its medication was causing eye damage but failed to warn of these potential side effects. In fact, its labeling and prescribing information stated under “Warnings” that there were none.

Contact Distasio Law Firm to File Your Florida Elmiron Lawsuit

Although Distasio Law Firm is based in Tampa, we handle Elmiron cases throughout the state of Florida. It is our mission to hold corporate wrongdoers accountable for damages caused by their dangerous drugs. For more information, or to get started on your Florida Elmiron lawsuit, give us a call.

Faq
Does it cost anything for me to have my Elmiron case evaluated?

No. There is no cost for you to find out if you have a case. Just give us a call or fill out a website form to get the process started. If we take your case, you owe us nothing unless we get a recovery on your behalf.

You will sign a contingency fee contract and a HIPPA release. This will allow our law firm to represent you, to obtain your medical records, and to start the process of holding Janssen accountable for your damages.

The pharmaceutical industry is very powerful. No single law firm has enough resources to take on all the cases against a company at one time. By working together, a group of law firms can provide the resources to make sure Janssen is held accountable for any wrongdoing they may have engaged in. Distasio Law Firm works with other law firms throughout the country, so you will have the benefit of being represented by more than one law firm in your case. Having more than one law firm represent you will not in any way reduce your potential recovery.

Currently, claims are being brought on behalf of any person that has suffered eye damage including Macular degeneration, Pigmentary maculopathy, Retinal maculopathy, or Retinal Pigmentary Endothelium Injury.

Symptoms may include blindness, blurred vision, distorted vision, difficulty reading, eye pain, trouble with eyes adjusting to dim light, trouble reading, prolonged dark adaptation, glare, blind spots, and metamorphopsia (straight lines appearing wavy or blank).

Large companies use lots of resources to try to convince people they should take personal responsibility for what happened to them. They try to make people think bringing a claim for damages is somehow wrong. The truth is that you were not provided enough information about the dangerous side effects to make an educated decision about what happened to you. There is no way you could take personal responsibility for your injury.

The real reason these large companies spend lots of money trying to convince people it’s wrong to bring personal injury lawsuits is that they are trying to avoid their own accountability for their actions. They make hundreds of millions of dollars selling a potentially dangerous drug. The only way to make them take responsibility for the damage they have caused is to bring a claim for money damages. This will do two things. It will persuade companies like Janssen to take patient safety into account so that fewer people are harmed by dangerous drugs. It will also compensate people who have suffered an injury by paying for their increased medical expenses, lost wages, and loss of enjoyment of life.

Our Florida Elmiron lawyers can help decide if it makes sense for you to bring a claim and, if necessary, where that lawsuit is filed. These determinations will be made after all the evidence is gathered to prove your case. If you have suffered eye damage and you meet the qualifications to bring a claim, the important thing is that you are properly compensated for your injuries, not where the lawsuit is filed.

Instead of an Elmiron class-action lawsuit, your claim will be filed individually. The reason you will not be part of an Elmiron class-action lawsuit is that individual lawsuits ensure your case is handled based on its unique qualities. Although it may make sense to bring your lawsuit in Florida, that is not always possible. Most of the time, the courts require all cases to be gathered in front of one judge who is familiar with the issues that may come up in Elmiron litigation. This is called multi-district litigation, or MDL. Although the cases may be consolidated for the consistency of one judge making legal decisions, each case will be decided on its own merits.

The statute of limitations is the time the law allows for bringing a lawsuit after damages occur. If a lawsuit is not brought within this timeframe, the claim is forever barred. In Florida, the statute of limitations is 4 years from when all the elements of the cause of action have accrued. There is also a 12-year statute of repose.

It can be very complicated to determine exactly when the statute of limitations runs for any particular case. You should not try to make this decision yourself, and you should not wait or think you have plenty of time. Instead, contact Distasio Law Firm as soon as possible before time runs out.

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Our main office is here in Downtown Tampa, Florida in the Channelside neighborhood. Offices in Wesley Chapel and Largo are available by appointment only.

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