Baycol Injury Lawyers

Nationwide Cases

Nationwide actions involving prescription drugs, dietary supplements, over-the-counter medications and other defective pharmaceutical products can be complex, costly and time consuming. The Alvarez Law Firm has the resources and experience to successfully litigate such cases.

If you or someone you know has suffered as the result of a defective and harmful pharmaceutical product, or to learn more about pending cases and see if you qualify as a plaintiff, contact us today.

Our Miami Baycol side effect law firm is actively investigating and engaged in current lawsuits against the manufacturers of some of the following pharmaceutical products:

Baycol

Another example of prescription drugs causing harm to unsuspecting patients is Baycol. On August 8, 2001, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that Bayer Corporation was voluntarily withdrawing Baycol from the U.S. market because of reports of fatal rhabdomyolysis, a severe adverse muscle reaction following the ingestion of Baycol. The FDA received reports of 31 U.S. deaths due to severe rhabdomyolysis associated with people taking Baycol, one in a family of popular cholesterol-lowering drugs.

Rhabdomyolysis is a condition that results in muscle cell breakdown and release of the contents of muscle cells into the bloodstream. Symptoms of rhabdomyolysis include muscle pain, tenderness, and weakness. It has been reported that the symptoms of rhabdomyolysis have unfortunately been mis-diagnosed as flu-related symptoms.

According to FDA reports, Baycol is associated with more frequent occurrences of fatal rhabdomyolysis than other similar cholesterol-lowering drugs.

More than 700,000 people in the United States take Baycol, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1997. Baycol is in a class of cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins. Rhabdomyolysis is a risk with all statins, the most-prescribed class of drugs in America. However, the FDA has stated that drug-related deaths from rhabdomyolysis in the U.S. have been reported significantly more frequently with Baycol than for other approved statins. The FDA has also stated that it "agrees with and supports" Bayer's decision to withdraw Baycol from the market.

Severe adverse muscle reactions following ingestion of Baycol can occur particularly when used at higher doses, when used in elderly patients, and when used in combination with a lipid-lowering drug known as Lopid. But the danger is not limited to the combined use of Baycol and Lopid—in fact, nineteen of the 31 U.S. deaths cited by the FDA involved the use of Baycol without Lopid.

Although Bayer has acknowledged that over 100 deaths have occurred in people who were using Baycol, Bayer continues to deny that these deaths were related to the use of Baycol. According to FDA reports, Baycol is associated with more frequent occurrences of fatal muscle reactions, known as rhabdomyolysis, than other similar cholesterol lowering drugs.

Dangerous Drugs

DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this website is not designed to replace your doctor's advice. Always consult a physician to determine whether certain medications or dietary supplements pose a danger to your medical condition.

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