When you’ve taken a drug that manufacturers purported to be safe, you are understandably devastated when you later develop cancer or suffer from liver failure from a drug that was supposed to help you live a comfortable life. One of the ingredients in Zantac and many generic medicines is ranitidine. When ranitidine decomposes, it creates an agent called N-Nitrosodimethylamine, or NDMA.
NDMA causes liver failure and cancer. Laboratories use NDMA to develop cancerous tumors in lab animals in an attempt to find a cure for cancer; accordingly, scientists, the National Institute of Health, and the Environmental Protection Agency have known that NDMA is carcinogenic.
If you have cancer and suspect it was caused by taking Zantac, contact Emroch & Kilduff for a free consultation.
What Is the Problem With Zantac?
Zantac is an H2 blocker that minimizes the acid that the stomach produces. Zantac first came on the market as a prescription drug as an antacid in the early 1980s, which was offered over-the-counter in the 1990s. Common uses for Zantac and the generic drugs that have ranitidine as an ingredient include heartburn, acid reflux, and other gastrointestinal and throat issues. Some also use Zantac or its generic counterparts as a supplement for their allergy treatments. Dosages range from 75 mg to 300 mg, though the 300 mg dose is usually taken one time per day.
Zantac Notification Timeline
Recently, Valisure notified the FDA of NDMA in Zantac and other drugs containing ranitidine. The FDA did not issue a request for retailers to remove the drug from its shelves until April 2020, even though Valisure notified the agency of the cancer-causing link. Nor did it remove it immediately, even with the knowledge that the National Institute of Health documented the dangers of NDMA as early as 2004.
The Findings
Valisure tests all medications that it dispenses and found that every batch of Zantac and generic drugs with ranitidine had more than 2 million nanograms of NDMA in every tablet. The FDA deemed that a daily intake of only 96 nanograms of NDMA to be safe for human consumption. Even after adjusting the testing, Valisure found about 300,000 nanograms per tablet. When ranitidine, the active ingredient in many antacid drugs, breaks down, it creates NDMA. It is the NDMA that causes cancer.
Types of Cancer and Other Issues NDMA Causes
According to the National Institutes of Health, NDMA causes liver failure and death, and several types of cancer, including:
Cancer in the tongue;
Pancreatic cancer;
Cancer of the esophagus;
Lung cancer;
Kidney cancer;
Liver cancer; and
Bladder cancer.
Effects of Injuries Caused by NDMA
When you suffer from cancer or liver failure, it is often impossible to work. In addition to the health issues you are fighting, financial strain can place a great burden on families. The overwhelming combination of health and financial complications could understandably lead to depression and anxiety; consider the lengthy medical care required for cancer and liver disease, and the knowledge that you can no longer work to help support your family.
You may also need a loved one to stay home and help care for you, or to drive you back and forth to appointments for chemotherapy, radiation treatments and/or surgery, which means additional financial pressure if your loved one also works.
Recoverable Damages
When you join a Zantac cancer lawsuit, you may recover economic and non-economic damages. In some cases, though rare, you could also recover punitive damages. Economic and non-economic damages, sometimes referred to as special and general damages, respectively, are meant to make you whole again. The court only awards punitive damages as a punishment for the defendant, and only if the defendant’s actions are determined grossly negligent.
Economic Damages
Special damages, or economic damages, typically have a fixed price attached and might include:
Past medical expenses for those incurred before a settlement or litigation;
Future expenses for those you expect to incur after a settlement or litigation;
Past lost wages for the time you were out of work due to the injury before a settlement or litigation;
Future lost wages for the time you expect to miss work due to your injuries after a settlement or litigation;
Medical aids, including a port for injecting chemotherapy drugs or ambulatory aids if the injury—in this case, cancer or the cancer-fighting drugs—cause you to lose partial use of your legs (neuropathy); and
Funeral and burial expenses.
Non-Economic Damages
General damages, or non-economic damages, might include:
Pain and suffering;
Emotional distress;
Inconvenience if you cannot do the chores you usually would do, including cleaning, shopping, lawn maintenance, and home maintenance;
Loss of companionship;
Loss of consortium;
Loss of use of a body part (neuropathy is often a side effect of certain chemo regimens); and
Loss of a bodily function, such as your hearing or eyesight.
Zantac Cancer Lawsuits
You do not have to join the class action lawsuits if you do not want to. In fact, if you are suffering from cancer or liver failure, you may have damages that apply to your situation that are not available in the class-action lawsuit. If a loved one died as a result of cancer or liver failure caused by taking Zantac, you might also potentially file a wrongful death lawsuit against the manufacturer.
Contact Emroch & Kilduff
Walter H. Emroch (retired), Product Liability Attorney
If you purchased Zantac or one of the generics that contain ranitidine, you may have been exposed to known cancer-causing agents; the manufacturers did not warn you of the dangers of taking a medication that contains ranitidine. Accordingly, these manufacturers should be held responsible for harms suffered by patients. If you suffer from liver disease, liver failure, or cancer because of taking a drug with ranitidine, contact Emroch & Kilduff at (804) 358-1568 for a free consultation.
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If you have been injured because of someone else s negligence, contact one of our experienced personal injury lawyers for a free consultation. For your convenience, Emroch & Kilduff has two office locations in Virginia: Richmond and Tappahannock.
Contact our offices today online or by calling(804) 358-1568 to schedule a free consultation, discuss the details of your injury, and determine the best path forward given your individual circumstances.
Zantac is an H2 blocker that minimizes the acid that the stomach produces. Zantac first came on the market as a prescription drug as an antacid in the early 1980s, which was offered over-the-counter in the 1990s. Common uses for Zantac and the generic drugs that have ranitidine as an ingredient include heartburn, acid reflux, and other gastrointestinal and throat issues. Some also use Zantac or its generic counterparts as a supplement for their allergy treatments. Dosages range from 75 mg to 300 mg, though the 300 mg dose is usually taken one time per day.
