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Valsartan Lawsuits: All You Need to Know

People are being diagnosed with cancer after ingesting Valsartan to reduce their blood pressure. 

Why?

This drug contains NDMA, a potential carcinogen.

Thus, individuals are suing the firms that manufacture and market Valsartan.

Did you develop cancer after taking Valsartan? If yes, contact a top-notch legal practitioner to help you file a case against Valsartan makers and seek compensation for incurred losses.

Valsartan Lawsuits: All You Need to Know

People are being diagnosed with cancer after ingesting Valsartan to reduce their blood pressure. 

Why?

This drug contains NDMA, a potential carcinogen.

Thus, individuals are suing the firms that manufacture and market Valsartan.

Did you develop cancer after taking Valsartan? If yes, contact a top-notch legal practitioner to help you file a case against Valsartan makers and seek compensation for incurred losses.

Read on to learn more about Valsartan cancer lawsuits and discover your legal options in this situation.

Valsartan Defined

Valsartan is a renowned medication to moderate blood pressure and treat heart failure. Millions of Americans purchase the drug under the brand names Diovan and Exforge. 

However, Valsartan was recalled by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2018 after it was discovered it contained dangerously high levels of NDMA.

NDMA is also known as N-nitrosodimethylamine — a chemical compound often created by drug production processes. 

The chemical is used in producing chemical pesticides, rubber tires, and commercial fish before sale. 

However, NDMA is also a human carcinogen. 

N-nitrosodimethlylamine (NDMA), when taken in high concentrations, causes health anomalies. While cancer isn’t a common side effect of taking Valsartan, people and animals exposed to this blood pressure medication can develop cancer. 

This discovery led to many people demanding personal injury or consumer losses compensation for the tainted drug.

Did you or a loved one develop a health challenge after ingesting an NDMA-soiled Valsartan medication? 

You don’t want to let the manufacturers go scot-free for such a fatal mistake. To file a Valsaran lawsuit and get a worthy settlement, contact an experienced lawyer to review your claim and create a rock-solid lawsuit.  

Valsartan Lawsuit Information: Vital Details of the Recall

In 2018, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an announcement concerning the total recall of all prescription heart and blood pressure medications containing Valsartan as an active ingredient. 

The recalled drugs, which included a harmful impurity, NDMA, were connected to a Chinese company called Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals. 

Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals reportedly produced the tainted Valsartan component and sold it to several US pharmaceutical firms. 

The entities that purchased the contaminated Valsartan drugs include Teva Pharmaceuticals Limited and Solco Healthcare. The Food and Drug Administration recalled Zhejiang Huahai’s products after the regulatory agency discovered NDMA impurities in the drug.

However, further investigation showed that the NDMA contamination had more widespread effects than was initially thought. For instance, an Indian firm that made pharmaceutical ingredients was classified to be a main channel of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) impurities.

Are All Valsartan Drugs Part of the Litigation?

No, not all Valsartan batches were contaminated. For instance, Diovan, Valsartan’s branded variation, wasn’t affected. 

In 2018, the Food and Drug Administration issued a recall that involved 11 firms that manufacture Valsartan products due to NDMA impurities. 

In less than twelve months, the agency had recalled up to 1,114 distinct lots of Angiotensin II receptor blockers, including Valsartan, Losartan, and Irbesartan.

Companies Involved in Valsartan Lawsuits

Since Valsartan identifies as a generic medication, this drug’s creation and distribution involves several firms.

Although Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals and Hetoro Labs were named the “primary” culprits responsible for creating tainted Valsartan variants that made their way into the United States, other organizations bear liability in Valsartan lawsuits.

Notable mentions include:

  • Preferred Pharmaceuticals 
  • Prinston Pharmaceutical Inc.
  • Remedy Repack Inc.
  • Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Inc.
  • AvKARE Inc.
  • Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.
  • Northwind Pharmaceuticals
  • Solco Healthcare, US LLC
  • Bryant Ranch Prepack Inc.
  • Torrent Pharmaceuticals
  • H.J. Harkins Company Inc.
  • Actavis LLC
  • NuCare Pharmaceuticals Inc.
  • Major Pharmaceuticals
  • A-S Medication Services LLC
  • Camber Pharmaceuticals Inc.

NOTE: Besides the listed firms, Valsartan lawsuits also implicated Throggs Neck Pharmacy and Walgreens.

Status of Valsartan Cancer Lawsuits

A national panel in February 2019 joined 10 Valsartan lawsuits from around the US into a mass litigation in a federal court based in New Jersey. 

These suits identified 20 Valsartan manufacturers and other companies as defendants in litigation. Apart from the 10 initial Valsartan claims, the panel also identified at least 30 other similar lawsuits.

The first 10 cases combined in the mass litigation were consumer class action cases that sought settlement for people who took tainted Valsartan in 2013. 

In addition, the panel sieved out 17 individual personal injury cases that claimed the contaminated medication was responsible for cancer or liver damage. 

The panel opened the claims to feature personal injury cases. In fact a lawyer informed judges in a conference that the number of Valsartan cases could “skyrocket” to 2,000 within 24 months (2 years).

In March 2022, a federal court appointed two former judges as “settlement counsel” in the Valsartan MDL. 

Their job? Resolve the over 1000 pending cases in the Valsartan Multidistrict Litigation in a global settlement. If this goal isn’t achieved, a series of bellwether trials will commence.

As of July 2022, there were more than 1,110 Valsartan lawsuits in the class action. However, the court is yet to “reach a compromise” on Valsartan lawsuit settlement amounts for resolving these cases. Consequently, the panel has scheduled no bellwether trials. 

However, if you’re on this page and sitting on the fence with a potential claim, hire a revered Valsartan lawyer as soon as possible. 

Why? 

Once there’s an agreement on compensation amounts, it could become challenging to find a good lawyer. 

Thus, beginning your search in earnest might yield the positive you seek in the long run.

Filing a Suit for Valsartan Injuries

Any person who has ingested Valsartan based on their doctor’s recommendation and is later diagnosed with cancer may be eligible for a settlement from the drug’s manufacturers. 

A lawsuit verdict or settlement will order compensation for financial and non-financial losses that resulted from Valsartan ingestion.

However, Valsartan litigation could be complicated. 

There are multiple defendants, and some of them are located in India and China. If your medication was part of the Valsartan recall, keep your medication bottle and the remaining pills for testing and evidence. 

Afterwards, contact a top-tier product liability lawyer. 

A professional lawyer knows how to file the appropriate paperwork and ensure your case runs smoothly. 

Product liability lawyers also have experts who can test your Valsartan pills. An attorney will evaluate your case and inform you of your legal options. 

If you’re eligible for Valsartan case filing, your attorney will file a lawsuit for you once you sign an agreement.

Potential Health Challenges from Valsartan Products

According to a study, NDMA exposure can result in the following cancer variations: 

  • Bladder cancer
  • Kidney cancer
  • Pancreatic cancer
  • Colorectal cancer
  • Gastric cancer
  • Liver cancer
  • Stomach cancer

What Are the Settlement Amounts Attached to Valsartan Lawsuits?

  1. There’s no definite value on how much compensation you could get in a Valsartan cancer lawsuit, and that’s because there is no trial yet on the cases. 

    However, we can offer a helpful estimate on how much is recoverable from these claims. 

    To get these estimates, we assess average settlement values of past tort cases connected to similar cancers and past mass tort compensations.

    By integrating these markers, the likely compensation value for Valsartan cancer cases in the top settlement tier will hover around $150,000 to $200,000. 

    Lawsuits in the highest settlement category will involve the cancer variations with the least survival rates, and here’s where pancreatic or stomach cancer will mostly find prominence. 

    However, if Valsartan ingestion led to more survivable cancer types like kidney or colon cancers, the victims could end up in a second settlement tier. 

    This segment has a potential payout amount of around $90,000 – $125,000.

    Generally, patients who file a Valsartan lawsuit may get their compensations under the following sub-headings:

    • Settlement for pain and suffering
    • Compensation for health bills
    • Lost wages and other financial losses
    • Funeral expenses in the event where a relation passed away from taking NDMA-contaminated Valsartan

Is There a Time Limit to File Your Valsartan Case?

Do you think an NDMA-contaminated Valsartan hurt you? Contact an attorney immediately.

Why?

Some US states enforce statute limitations on lawsuits, which means you may no longer file for compensation if the allotted case filing timeline elapses.

However, note that not all Valsartan claims are subject to statute of limitations. 

For instance, court documents filed by a certain Eric J. Erwin in the District of New Jersey Trenton Vicinage, indicates that the plaintiff couldn’t file a legal complaint beforehand since the NDMA impurity only came to light in 2018. 

Consequently, the complaint said that the courts place a hold on any applicable statute of limitations. 

In other words, only a licensed attorney can determine your time limit accurately to file a Valsartan case.

Complaints Filed in Lieu of People Who Ingested Tainted Valsartan

The first Valsartan cases were class actions filed in lieu of individuals who ingested contaminated Valsartan.

First off, a man and woman from New York City made a claim of what they deemed to be a Valsartan litigation in the Federal Southern District. This filing was effected on the 16th of August, 2018. 

The persons that made the claim – John and Elizabeth Duffy – named these entities in their complaints:

  • Throggs Neck Pharmacy
  • Solco Healthcare
  • Walgreens
  • Prinston Pharmaceutical Inc.

The second Valsartan-related complaint was made by Eric J. Erwin. This claim was filed on the 31st of August, 2018 at the District of New Jersey Trenton Vicinage. 

The plaintiff names these entities as defendants:

  • Teva USA
  • Teva Pharmaceuticals
  • Huahai US Inc.
  • Prinston Pharmaceutical Inc.
  • Solco Healthcare

James Jones filed a Valsartan complaint that claimed that Valsartan was unreasonably dangerous on the 11th of September, 2018. 

This claim was filed at the Eastern District of Missouri Eastern Division. Defendants named in this claim were:

  • Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical Co. LTD
  • Huahai US Inc.
  • Solco Health U.S. LLC
  • Prinston Pharmaceutical Inc

On the 26th of September, 2018, another complaint was filed at the U.S. District Court of New Jersey. 

This complaint had three plaintiffs — Jynona Gail Lee, Dominic Stimma, and Margoth Strand. The defendants featured include:

  • Hetero USA
  • Kroger
  • CVS
  • Quality Food Centers
  • Camber Pharmaceuticals

Queries Your Valsartan Attorney Might Ask

After deciding to see an attorney, the next right thing is to prepare to answer questions your Valsartan attorney might ask. 

Here are common queries your Valsartan lawyer might ask during your Valsartan’s case review.

What Were You Diagnosed With?

People eligible to file a Valsartan claim have most likely received a doctor’s diagnosis of liver, kidney, stomach, or intestinal cancer. 

Your lawyer will review your medical records to confirm your diagnosis.

Did You Use a Recalled Valsartan Drug?

The FDA recalled several Valsartan drugs in 2018 for containing NDMA, a carcinogen. 

To identify whether your medication was included in the recall, locate the producer’s name and the medication’s lot number. 

You can find the lot number on the warning label or on the prescription bottle. 

Afterwards, find the FDA’s recall list with the retrieved details for the medication.

When Did You First Experience the Side Effects?

A statute of limitations on Valsartan cases depicts how long you have to submit a filing from when you started experiencing the side effects. 

Your lawyer can assist you in assessing your eligibility to file a lawsuit.

How Have the Side Effects Impacted You?

Informing your attorney on how Valsartan’s side effects have affected your daily life helps you file a complaint and pursue your legal rights. Inform your lawyer about how the diagnosis has impacted your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. 

What Treatment Modes Have You Used to Combat the Illness?

Tell your attorney about the medications or treatments you’ve taken to date in combating the illness. 

Chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation rank among the most common cancer treatments. 

Inform your lawyer about what cancer treatment plans you have in place. 

They’ll also need to know how effective the treatment methods have been.

Final Words

If you’ve been taking any recalled Valsartan drugs from Solco Healthcare or Teva, contact an attorney as soon as possible to discuss your legal options. 

As discussed above, a class action litigation could lead to financial settlements for the victims. 

Depending on the injuries, your settlement could be enormous. 

Consulting an experienced lawyer or legal firm with all the necessary resources in your corner gives you the best chance of standing up to these large corporations. 

The best thing? You don’t have to spend a cent in legal expenses as numerous Valsartan lawyers operate on a contingency-fee basis. 

Thus, you’ll only pay once you’ve gotten a settlement.

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