$10 Million Lawsuit Alleges Levaquin Tendon Rupture

On February 3, 2012, Lynn and Robert Preminger filed a lawsuit in alleging Levaquin rotator cuff tears. Their case joins other Levaquin lawsuits in multidistrict litigation (MDL), which addresses similar complaints including Levaquin tendon rupture and Levaquin Achilles tendon tears, and will be heard in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Along with other plaintiffs in the MDL, the Premingers allege that Johnson & Johnson, the drug’s manufacturer, failed to adequately warn the public of Levaquin side effects.

$10 Million to Compensate for Levaquin Rotator Cuff Tears

Through their Levaquin lawyer, Robert and Lynn Preminger content that Ms. Preminger was prescribed and took Levaquin several times between February 13, 2002 and August 17, 2010. Their lawsuit states that as a result of treatment with Levaquin, Lynn Preminger developed Levaquin rotator cuff tears, which is one of several alleged Levaquin side effects. As a result of her injuries, the Premingers’ lawsuit states that Ms. Preminger has experienced pain and suffering, and has difficulty performing everyday activities. As compensation, they request $10 in compensation to cover past and future medical expenses, in-home health care, and damages resulting from fraud, negligence, breach of express and implied warranties, and loss of consortium, among other complaints.

Updated Risk of Levaquin Tendon Rupture

In 1997, when Johnson & Johnson first made Levaquin available on the U.S. market, the drug’s warning label mentioned that some patients had experienced Levaquin tendon rupture. However, this warning was last on the label, and had no heading or other identifying information to make it stand out. Furthermore, Johnson & Johnson did not warn medical professionals or the public in general of the risk. However, by 2002, scientific research had proven that patients over age 60 displayed triple the risk of Levaquin tendon rupture. At that time, Johnson & Johnson updated the Levaquin warning label, but stated only, “this risk may be increased… in the elderly.”

Defendant Adds Other Levaquin Side Effects to Label

More than 1,000 Adverse Event Reports of tendon injuries were sent to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) between 1997 and 2005; of those, nearly 300 associated the problems with Levaquin tendon rupture. During the next two years, between 2006 and 2007, the FDA received even more reports of Levaquin side effects. On July 8, 2008, the FDA required Johnson & Johnson to update the medication’s packaging with a black box warning regarding the risk of Levaquin rotator cuff tears and Levaquin tendon rupture.