Thousands of upset men and their families look forward to October 2016 when the first testosterone lawsuit will be tried as a bellwether trial. They feel cheated by the makers of androgel, androderm, and similar low-T supplement makers who sold them “the fountain of youth” only to harm them. Our Arkansas testosterone injury lawyer is currently evaluating fact patterns where plaintiffs had strokes, heart attacks, and even paralysis within months of taking these patches, gels, and injections containing the androgenic hormone.
A majority of the more than 2,000 testosterone heart attack lawsuits are against seven manufacturers, who account for about 90 percent of the $2 billion “disease sold” to consumers every year. The direct promo pitch for testosterone replacement without informing its side effects promises to restore youthful energy and overturn a sagging libido in men unsure of hypogonadism, the disease treated with these drugs. Misinformation is even forcing healthy middle-aged men to reverse normal aging effects. Those swayed by these disease mongering ads suffered from blood clots, heart attacks, and arterial blockages to death.
Cheated, Harmed by Low-T Makers
Daniel Weber, a 44-year-old resident from Fort Smith, Arkansas, took to Low-T supplements after TV ads forced him to think that he had testosterone deficiency. The promos never divulged that the drugs are only for those with hypigonadism and not for age-related decrease in the sex hormone. The ads neglected to mention the drugs could have side effects. His Arkansas testosterone injury lawyer claims that he had a stroke after having the low-T gel therapy for about seven months. He became partially paralyzed and diagnosed with lung embolism.
The low-T lawsuit filed by this Arkansas resident blames Androgel, the supplement he used to improve testosterone levels, for his condition. In March this year, the FDA announced changes to the drug label to include warning about potential thromboembolic events, clots, and strokes in those using testosterone supplements. There are countless stories telling heart attack side effects linked to low-T injections, gels, patches and other forms of supplements.
Studies Negate Low-T Supplement Makers, Warns Side Effects
A recent finding reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association negates the manufacturer’s claim of restoration of youthful vigor and sexual appetite following testosterone replacement therapy. Researchers discovered no assured “improvement in overall sexual function, partner intimacy, and health-related quality of life” after these supplements are used. This may leave many users to face only heart attack risks without any benefit. A 2013 report in the same journal was scathing in its attack on supplement makers for their unethical promotional campaign that misled healthy men on diseases treated with these drugs.
Multiple studies reported in the last two years warned about a clear increase in the risk of cardiac problems and death in older men treated with low-T drugs.
FDA Needs Assurance on Safety
Low-T supplements have been on the market since the 1950s, but the market started expanding manifold in the 2000s. AbbVie, the maker of Androgel, reported about four million users of low-T products in 2000. The numbers grew five times in 2003 and over 25 times by 2014. One of the litigants claims that “the number of men with the conditions for which AndroGel is indicated, which are believed to be substantially smaller” and the most of the users are driven by lifestyle purposes. And the reason? AbbVie had spent close to $150 million in promotions in 2012 and 2013.
The March 2015 warning by the FDA acknowledged side effects that many plaintiffs and consumer groups have been complaining of for years. In August, the New England Journal of Medicine published a research report prepared by the FDA’s Office of Drug Evaluation. The report expressed concerns over abuse of low-T supplements by men without “classic hypogonadism” symptoms and called for more safety trials. The agency also issued a statement after reviewing several complaints and findings. “Testosterone is being used extensively in attempts to relieve symptoms in men who have low testosterone for no apparent reason other than aging and the benefits and safety of this use have not been established,” reads the statement.
The FDA also acknowledges that at least 28% of users take the supplements without any testing. “Given these patters of use, it appears that a majority of men prescribed testosterone may have age-related hypogonadism rather than classic hypogonadism and the findings is troubling in light of evidence from recent large observational studies that suggests potential cardiovascular risk associated with testosterone use,” it observed.
Contact us or call on 1-800-632-1404 for evaluation of your potential low-T lawsuit claim by our Arkansas testosterone injury lawyer.