Zantac (Ranitidine) belongs to a class of medications called H2-blockers. These popular medications are used for treating gastrointestinal conditions such as acid indigestion (‘heartburn’ and ‘sour stomach’) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) by decreasing the amount of acid produced by the stomach. Zantac was first approved for prescription use by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration in 1983, and in 1986 became the first drug to reach $1 billion in total sales. Zantac became available over-the-counter (“OTC”) (without a prescription) in 1996, and generic versions of Zantac began selling the following year. Despite prolific sales of generic Ranitidine, Zantac sales remain strong: in 2018, it was one of the top 10 antacid tablet brands in the U.S. with sales of almost $130 million.

In September of 2020, it was discovered that when Zantac and other generic Ranitidine products metabolize in the body they produce dangerously high quantities NDMA (N-nitrosodimethylamine), a potent carcinogen. This came to light when Valisure, an online pharmacy, advised the FDA, filing a Citizen’s Petition, that its scientific testing of Zantac and generic Ranitidine revealed that each tablet contained NDMA at levels thousands of times higher than the FDA’s “permissible daily intake limit” (read more below). Notably, Valisure is not just a pharmacy, it operates an ISO (International Standards Organization) accredited laboratory. The FDA considers this accreditation “one of the most important standards for calibration and testing laboratories” and it gives strong credibility to Valisure’s test results.

“There’s no acceptable cancer risk for a drug like this.”

– David Light (Valisure CEO)

Valisure further wrote, “Since 2002, the formation of NDMA by the reaction of DMA and a nitroso source (such as nitrite) has been well characterized in the scientific literature.” In other words, peer-reviewed scientific studies of Ranitidine and NDMA suggest that drugmakers knew — or at a bare minimum should have known — that Zantac (Ranitidine) use exposes users to dangerously high amounts of NDMA.

The dangers NDMA pose to human health are long-standing and well known. It was once used to make rocket fuel and other petroleum-based industrial products. The FDA has established a “permissible daily intake limit for … NDMA of 96 [nanograms].” But according to Valisure, Zantac (Ranitidine) has an NDMA content of between 2.5-2.8 million nanograms per tablet.

Since the release of Valisure’s report virtually all generic and brand name versions of Zantac have been withdrawn from the consumer market, with most manufacturers voluntarily recalling their products.

Our firm is currently investigating cases where individuals took Prescription and Brand Name Zantac – we are not accepting cases involving generic versions of Ranitidine – before being diagnosed with one of the following types of cancer:

• Bladder Cancer
• Stomach Cancer (including gastric cancer)
• Colorectal Cancer (including colon and rectal cancer)
• Intestinal Cancer
• Esophageal Cancer
• Kidney Cancer
• Liver Cancer
• Pancreatic Cancer
• Uterine Cancer

If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with one of these forms of cancer after taking Prescription or Brand Name Zantac, contact us online or call us at 1-866-252-3535.

Do not stop taking any medication without consulting your healthcare provider.

Touted as a means for adults to stop smoking conventional cigarettes, electronic cigarettes have become increasingly popular over the last several years Commonly referred to as ‘vaping’, a user inhales nicotine and numerous other chemicals through a battery-powered e-cigarette which heats the nicotine and other liquid chemicals contained in a pod or cartridge until it turns into a mist. JUUL is the most popular ‘e-cigarette’ manufacturer currently on the market, generating over $1billion in revenue in 2018 alone. JUUL is so popular that many young people have deemed use of the product ‘JUUL-ing’. However, what JUUL has touted as a safe smoking-cessation device has become an epidemic among today’s youth, particularly teens. From 2017 to 2018, e-cigarette use by high school students increased by 78%, to nearly 1 in 5 students. A 2017  study performed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention found high schoolers and middle schoolers use e-cigarettes more than conventional ones.

An article by Jesse Pounds of the Greensboro News & Record highlighted the story of a 14 year old North Carolina teen who had to enter a rehabilitation facility – he was so addicted to nicotine he was ‘vaping’ the equivalent of 80 conventional cigarettes a day! In August the U.S. Food & Drug Aministration reported it was investigating 127 reports of seizures related to ‘vaping’ (“seizures have been reported as occurring after a few puffs or up to one day after use“).

Even more disturbing, a U.S. Congressional report found that JUUL intentionally engaged in marketing campaigns in an attempt to “convey its messaging directly to teenage children” and then deleted the vast majority of its social media postings including more than 2,500 tweets and 400 posts to Instagram and Facebook:

JUUL splurged on sponsorship events at schools, summer camps and police-run community camps where sessions were camouflaged with generic names like “holistic health education.”

In one case, the company paid $134,000 to host a five-week summer camp in Baltimore where even third graders were enrolled, the report said.

The Richmond Police Activities League was given $89,000 to support a youth program and $10,000 was spent on other schools for gaining access to students, according to the report.

According to the testimony of a 17-year-old boy, Juul representatives visited schools to tell students that using their product was “totally safe.”

Our firm is investigating cases where users of JUUL‘s products, who were under the age of 25 when they began using them, and subsequently were diagnosed with the following health problems:

• Eosinophilic Pneumonia
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
• Bronchiolitis Obliterans (“Popcorn Lung“)
• Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis (a rare immune system disorder that affects the lungs)
• Heart Attacks & Strokes
• Nicotine Addiction (despite never smoking conventional cigarettes)

If you are or know someone under the age of 25 who has used JUUL vaping products and developed any of these medical problems, contact us online or call 1-866-252-3535.

On July 24, 2020, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration announced that ‘textured’ breast implants made by Allergan are being recalled due to the risk of developing Breast Implant-Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (BIA-ALCL). All “BIOCELL” Natrelle products manufactured by Allergen, both implants and tissue expanders, are being removed from the consumer market.

• Natrelle Saline-Filled breast implants
• Natrelle Silicone-Filled breast implants
• Natrelle Inspira Silicone-Filled breast implants
• Natrelle 410 Highly Cohesive Anatomically Shaped Silicone-Filled breast implants
• Natrelle 133 Plus Tissue Expander
• Natrelle 133 Tissue Expander with Suture Tabs

BIA-ALCL is a rare form of T-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma which is a cancer of the immune system. It is not “breast cancer” but does develop in the tissues surrounding the implant. The main symptom of BIA-ALCL is persistent swelling, pain and fluid accumulation around the implant. The implant contents (whether saline or silicone) are not a factor in developing BIA-ALCL. The roughened, ‘textured’ shell of the implant, designed to better hold the implant in place, has been singled out as the root cause. Symptoms may not occur until 8-10 years after breast reconstruction or augmentation surgery. Patients who are diagnosed with BIA-ALCL need early diagnosis and intervention including surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation treatment.

If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with Breast Implant-Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) contact us online or call 1-866-252-3535 for a free consultation.

If you have been implanted with Allergen’s ‘textured’ breast implants, contact your health care provider for consultation and screening. A physical exam, diagnostic imaging and testing of the fluid or tissue around your implants can determine a BIA-ALCL diagnosis.

Over 80% of HIV sufferers in the U.S. take some form of anti-retroval drug that contains tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (“TDF”) as part of their regular HIV treatment or prevention regimen. Our firm is currently investigating serious injuries caused by the “TDF” drugs Truvada, Stribild, Atripla, Complera and/or Viread, manufactured by Gilead Sciences.

The problem? Gilead had developed an alternative, safer HIV drug formulation than “TDF’s” as early as 2001, known as tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (“TAF”), but  intentionally delayed releasing it despite knowing it had a lower risk of causing injuries than “TDF’s”. “TAF” drugs (Genvoya, Odefsey, Descovy, Biktarvy, Symtuza & Vemlidy) only require 1/10th the dosage “TDF’s” do, which means less chances of kidney or bone injury since less of the drug is being introduced into the body and absorbed into the users kidneys and bones. Nonetheless, the safer “TAF” formulation sat on a shelf somewhere, unavailable to HIV sufferers.

Why? Until their “TDF” patents expired Gilead had a monopoly on HIV treatment and prevention with its “TDF” drugs, particularly Truvada, with net revenues of around $10 billion a year! So Gilead only started selling their safer “TAF” drugs after Genvoya was approved in November 2015, followed by Odefsey and Descovy in 2016; about a year before their “TDF” patents expired in 2017!

The result? HIV patients unnecessarily suffered serious kidney and bone injuries. More than 650 deaths have been reported to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration since the drug was released. The FDA sent warning letters to Gilead in 2002 and 2003, rebuking them for falsely promoting “TDF’s” as ‘non-toxic’ and ‘extremely safe’, intentionally downplaying their side effects to prescribing physicians. Apparently, the company did not care. Putting profits over people, Gilead has stated in court filings it had “no duty to develop, test, seek approval of, or launch its new product [“TAF’s] on any particular timetable”.

We are examining cases involving the following “TDF” drug-related kidney and bone injuries:

• Kidney Impairment, Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) and/or Acute Renal Failure (ARF)
• Fanconi Syndrome
• Renal Tubular Dysfunction
• Ostoepenia, Osteomalacia or Osteoporosis (decreased bone density)
• Bone Fractures

If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with any of these ailments after taking Truvada, Stribild, Atripla, Complera and/or Viread, contact us online or call us at 1-866-252-3535.

Do not stop taking any medication without consulting your healthcare provider.

3M’s Combat Arms Earplugs™, the “CAEv2’s“, issued to about 2.5 million service members over a 12 year period, were defectively designed causing the men and women serving our Country to be exposed to dangerous levels of training and combat-related noise (gunfire, explosions, etc.).

CAEv2’s were supposed to be traditional earplugs when used one way (dark end inserted into ear), and ‘filtration devices’, blocking battlefield noise while sill allowing soldiers to hear each other (and their orders!), when reversed (yellow end inserted into ear). Incredibly, 3M knew the earplugs were too short to properly fit in the ear effectively and did not properly seal the ear canal, leaving service men and women with inadequate hearing protection.

In July of 2018 3M agreed to pay over $9 million to the government in order to resolve allegations they knowingly sold CAEv2’s to our military without disclosing the defective nature of the earplugs.

“Specifically, the United States alleged that 3M …  knew the CAEv2 was too short for proper insertion into users ears and that the earplugs could loosen imperceptibly and therefore did not perform well for certain individuals. The United States further alleged that 3M did not disclose this design defect to the military.”

However, no compensation was or has been provided to the actual service members who suffered the effects of the defective earplugs and experienced hearing loss.

As explained by Mary Roach in her article Hearing Loss is a Soldier’s Dire Enemy: “Most earplugs reduce noise by 30-some decibels. This is helpful with a steady, grinding background din—a Bradley Fighting Vehicle clattering over asphalt (130 decibels), or the thrum of a Black Hawk helicopter (106 decibels). Thirty decibels is more significant than it sounds. Every 3-decibel increase in a loud noise cuts in half the amount of time one can be exposed without risking hearing damage. An unprotected human ear can spend eight hours a day exposed to 85 decibels (freeway noise, crowded restaurant) without incurring a hearing loss. At 115 decibels (chainsaw, mosh pit), safe exposure time falls to half a minute. The 187-decibel boom of an AT4 anti-tank weapon lasts a second, but even that ultrabrief exposure would, to an unprotected ear, mean a permanent downtick in hearing.”

Since hearing loss impacts the operational effectiveness and medical readiness of active duty service members, adequate hearing protection is a top priority. Hearing loss can intensify anxiety, depression, insomnia, headaches and dizziness, and is the most prevalent service-related disability among U.S. veterans. As a result of 3M’s faulty earplugs thousands of veterans have experienced hearing loss and ringing or buzzing in their ears (“tinnitus“). In fact, many veterans likely have significant hearing damage and do not know it. According to the U.S. Veteran’s Administration about 50% of service members return from active duty with moderate to severe hearing damage, with nearly three million veterans currently receiving benefits for hearing loss or incurable “tinnitus”. In 2014 some 2.2 million veterans received disability benefits for hearing impairment or “tinnitus”, and by 2017 that number had increased to 2.7 million vets. Today, approximately 20% of all veterans who served between 2003 and 2015 receive disability compensation for “tinnitus” and/or hearing loss. If you suspect you might have hearing loss you should have your hearing checked by a medical professional.

If you are an active service member or veteran who served between 2003 and 2015, were issued CAEv2 Earplugs, and have been diagnosed with hearing loss or Tinnitus, contact us online or call us at 1-866-252-3535.

*If you are a veteran, filing a personal injury lawsuit against 3M should not affect your disability compensation since the government awards benefits based on disability ratings as opposed to income level. Click here to read a more detailed explanation.