What Is a Levothyroxine Class Action Lawsuit?
The first Levothyroxine Class Action Lawsuit was filed in the year 1998. At that time, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved levothyroxine as an oral dietary supplement to treat thyroid disorders such as hyperthyroidism, goiter, and thyroid cancer. It is marketed by generic name “L-Carnitine”. According to the FDA, it is safe for long term use even if the benefits are not clinically proven.
In a class action lawsuit, a group of persons who were administered with levothyroxine together developed several health problems.
They claimed that they suffered from fatigue, headaches, weakness, dry skin, constipation, and muscle weakness. Several people began to have an allergic reaction to its preservative, l-carnitine. The allergic reaction may be caused by its ability to metabolize the thyroid hormone. This led to the withdrawal of this prescription drug.
The Levothyroxine Class Action Lawsuit claims damages for disability compensation, past and future medical costs, past and future income loss, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment, future earning loss, permanent disability, and psychological injury.
As of this writing, the suit has been extended to include several more individuals and to include the manufacturers’ products. Many individuals that have been diagnosed with chronic illnesses are particularly vulnerable to having this class action lawsuit. Due to the harmful nature of levothyroxine, some people became too ill to continue their daily activities, which in turn led to lost wages and medical bills.
Plaintiffs have alleged that the defendant’s lax manufacturing processes, their reckless marketing, and their failure to warn of potential risks all contributed to the injuries suffered by their plaintiffs. The manufacturers are being sued for negligence, manufacturing defects, and for failing to appropriately warn about these risks. As a class action suit, it is typical for the plaintiffs to be able to receive a percentage of the settlement award. In the case of Levothyroxine, the amount of compensation to which they may receive will be dependent on the number of class members that have signed up. Currently, the numbers are at fourteen.
The Levothyroxine class action lawsuit is also being pursued on behalf of pregnant women who have been adversely affected by the effects of this synthetic hormone.
These women are being represented by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACEA) and the Center for Drug Evaluation (C Dover, MD). A class action lawsuit typically has much lower awards than a personal injury case. However, if the case is successful, the settlement may allow these individuals to recoup some of their past expenses and any future financial losses.
If you’re involved in a Levothyroxine class action lawsuit, you should know that it isn’t an easy case to win.
Levothyroxine is a prescription drug intended for the relief of thyroid disorders. This condition is one of the most common ones experienced by pregnant women. Levothyroxine is also commonly used to treat growth hormone deficiency in adults. It is marketed under the names Topical Retinoid, Actonel, Adaxel, Levalbuterol, Methylcobalamin, and Fluoxetine.
To date, there have been no known side effects attributed to the use of Levothyroxine.
However, a few patients have reported feeling nausea after taking the medication. This effect may be due to one of the common side effects experienced by individuals taking the drug, or it may be due to the way in which it is administered. Regardless of whether side effects occur, you may want to consult with your doctor prior to using Levothyroxine.
If you’ve received notice of a Levothyroxine class action lawsuit, you should not delay in contacting an attorney. While you may be entitled to compensation based on the doctor’s diagnosis, your physician has only been required to make this determination after a court case has been filed. This means that you may not receive any compensation until you have initiated a lawsuit. Thus, you need an attorney who is well-experienced in dealing with cases such as yours. A qualified and experienced attorney will be able to ensure that you receive the best possible compensation for your damages.
For me, it is not the drug, but the manner in which it was prescribed and especially the way it is tested.
It seems that sometime in the 1980s Levothyroxine became the drug of choice for the treatment of hypothyroidism. Prior to that time, the treatment was made from desiccated thyroid glands of animals. It contained all the factors of thyroid secretion but was a little different in composition, providing higher T3 than the normal human thyroid provides when working properly.
Levothyroxine provides T4, but no T3. It was assumed that the human body would convert T4 to T3, so this should not be a problem. Levothyroxine became the standard of care, stipulated by the American Thyroid Association and universally accepted by the medical community. The test to show how the patient is faring is the TSH test. Quick and easy. One replacement drug and one test for hypothyroid patients.
Not all hypothyroid patients did well on the Levothyroxine, however. Most were ignored. Recent research reveals that there is a subset of hypothyroid patients who do not readily convert T4 to T3. Approximately 12% of hypothyroid patients fall into this category. There is a genetic component to this inability.
In my situation, I asked to be prescribed the old-fashioned natural drug, Armour Thyroid, since I did not do well on the synthetic Levothyroxine. My HMO doctors did comply but used the TSH test to judge the amount of prescription provided to me. The TSH test is not a valid indicator if a patient taking the natural drug, since the T3 in the natural drug lowers the TSH score, giving a false impression that the patient is taking too much thyroid. My prescription for thyroid replacement was continually cut down, with the excuse that tests show that I am taking too much.
I showed all the symptoms of low thyroid, but this was ignored due to the TSH score. I became unable to work, although I was self-employed, I could make enough money to keep afloat financially. This blind adherence to a mantra from on high has cost me much, the actual loss of income, loss of self-worth, loss of employment, loss of value to clients, family, and friends.
I would like to see the ATA and other medical associations be forced to take a closer look at their Hypocraric Oath and what it means. I would like them to actually look at the scientific data and apologize to the thousands of patients whose lives have been harmed. I doubt there would be financial compensation unless this becomes public with a huge outcry for justice.
But there should be compensation to every patient who was denied correct evaluation and treatment, castigated when they informed their doctors that the Synthetic drug did not work for them. Yes, these organizations should be fined for incompetence and malpractice.
see the above comments about the harm done to a patient who was given one thyroid drug and tested and rescribed on the protocol of a different thyroid drug.