LEVAQUIN® Antibiotic Linked To Damaged Tendons

Levaquin, a quinolone antibiotic, has been linked to hundreds of cases related to tendonitis, serious tendon ruptures and injuries. This expensive drug is manufactured by Johnson & Johnson and Ortho-McNeil and marketed by Walgreen Co. Eye-related problems have also been associated with this drug. This fact was concluded by researchers at Casey Eye Institute at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland and was featured in the September issue of Ophthalmology.

Levaquin, introduced in the US in 1997, is prescribed to treat bacterial infections in the lungs, skins, sinuses, kidneys, bladder, prostate and urinary tracts.

Action against Levaquin

The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved Levaquin in 1996. It took two years for the FDA to force Johnson & Johnson and Ortho-McNeil to issue a strong black-box warning of tendon damage and ruptures of the Achilles tendon on the label of this antibiotic. By this time thousands of people had already suffered needlessly from incapacitating injuries as well as undergone surgery and even extensive rehab program. Many Lavaquin users never really recovered from tendon injuries.

The labels failed to provide adequate warning, especially that chances of tendon injury was tripled for people older than 60 and people undergoing corticosteroid therapy.  Respected institutions, such as the IDSA Infectious Diseases Society of America and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have asked major retailers to reassess the promotion of this drug and/or candidly explain the side-effects.

There were around 1,044 tendon injuries and about 282 reports of tendon ruptures associated with the drug between 1997 and 2005. Hundreds of Levaquin lawsuits are already pending in American courts.

Levaquin: Side Effects

• Snap or pop in a tendon area
• Bruising right after an injury in a tendon area
• Inability to move the affected area or bear weight
• Pain, inflammation or swelling in a tendon area
• Arthralgia
• Nausea
• Pyrexia
• Dyspnoea
• Asthenia
• Fatigue
• Insomnia
• Pain in extremity
• Myalgia
• Pain

If you have used Levaquin and are experiencing any of these symptoms, you should seek medical help immediately.

Patients may also experience some long-term side effects, such as:

• Granulomatous liver disease
• Gastrooesophageal reflux disease
• Lymphadenopathy
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Hypoaesthesia

Levaquin Tendon Personal Injury Lawsuit

If you or a loved one is suffering due to the side effects of Levaquin, you should contact a Levaquin tendon injury attorney immediately. It is your legal right to receive compensation for having suffered due to someone else’s negligence.

If you are in need of a personal injury attorney in Billings, MT, please contact Solomon Neuhardt for a free consultation.

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