The side effects of the prescription drug Propecia are devastating. The effects can be deadly or irreversible, and you may be left picking up the pieces. The adverse effects can negatively impact relationships, limit daily activities, and impair your work, jeopardizing your financial stability. If this has happened to you, then you have a right to pursue a lawsuit. This article will outline the most common causes and symptoms of side effects, and how you can pursue a claim to get your money back.
Suicides
In 2009, Merck received over 200 reports of suicides caused by Propecia use but decided that there weren’t enough to change the label or stop selling the drug. The product was widely used by men to enhance their sexual performance and appearance. But as lawsuits have shown, the drug also has side effects, including decreased libido and genital shrinkage. Some men even experience problems with cognition.
Merck denied any link between Propecia and suicides, even though it is linked to such an effect. The FDA, for example, only received 34 reports of suicide during the first 14 years of sales. Merck also said there were too few reports of suicidal behavior and depression to warrant a warning. Merck has been hit with wrongful death lawsuits related to the drug in 2015.
Sexual dysfunction
In April 2012, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) consolidated all federal Propecia lawsuits for sexual dysfunction under multidistrict litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Merck agreed to change the drug’s label to warn about sexual dysfunction. The change in labeling reflects the data obtained during clinical trials and has been published in several medical journals.
Merck’s headquarters is located in New Jersey. The New Jersey Supreme Court decided to centralize the lawsuits and assigned Judge Jessica Mayer to oversee the cases. Merck settled five62 of these lawsuits for nearly $4.3 million in April 2018.
Ruined relationships
There have been 1,245 lawsuits filed against the manufacturer of the hair-loss drug Propecia, and many claim the company did not properly warn consumers about side effects. These side effects are called Post-Finasteride Syndrome, and the National Institutes of Health has added the condition to its database. In a landmark case in California, a woman filed the first wrongful-death lawsuit against Merck.
The three victims allege that they were prescribed the drug for three years, but their sexual lives began to suffer. Their memory also deteriorated and they found it difficult to remember the name of their date on a dinner date. The men allege that their relationship deteriorated because of the decrease in their sex drive. One San Diego urologist, Dr. Irwin Goldstein, prescribed a different hormonal drug aimed at mitigating the unpredictable side effects of Propecia.
Financial recompense
If you are a victim of the side effects of Propecia, you may have a strong case for financial recompense. However, the time frame in which you can file a lawsuit is short. Every state has strict filing deadlines for product liability lawsuits, which can range from one to six years. If you do not file your lawsuit within this timeframe, you risk having your claim dismissed.
In 2002, Merck employees told company executives that 23 men experienced sexual side effects after taking the drug for three years. However, the company failed to disclose that these men dropped out of the trial because of their side effects. Merck knew that the public would learn that the drug had adverse sexual side effects, and therefore failed to warn it. The company’s failure to disclose this information could have caused severe sales declines.