Make Sure that You File Your Avandia Claims Lawsuit on Time

The introduction of the oral drug Avandia or Rosiglitazone was welcomed by doctors as it served as a great alternative to patients who, for medical reasons, could not take Actos or any other drugs for Type II diabetes. Rosiglitazone was either manufactured alone or was combined with other drugs to form a new medication; such is the case with Avandamet (Rosiglitazone combined with metformin) and Avandaryl (combination of Rosiglitazone and glimepiride).

Avandia can be prescribed alone or with another diabetes medicine and is usually taken with proper diet and exercise. It is, however, not intended for type 1 diabetics due to their system’s inability to produce enough insulin or total failure to produce insulin.

Avandia was manufactured by the UK pharmaceutical company SmithKlineBeecham Corporation and approved for distribution by the US Food and Drug Administration in May 1999. SmithKlineBeecham Corporation is now registered under the name GlaxoSmithKline after its merger with another UK firm, Glaxo Wellcome, in January 2000. The merger resulted to the formation of world’s largest drug company.

After becoming Glaxo’s second most-bought product and after being prescribed to more than six million patients worldwide, Avandia’s sale dropped following a public warning by the FDA which said that the drug increased the possibility of congestive heart failure and fatal heart attack in patients. It was even issued a block box warning, FDA’s most serious warning on a drug due to its life-threatening effects.

Different studies made on the drug, however, showed conflicting results; this means that while many did suffer from heart ailments, some others did not. Thus, despite the black box warning, the FDA decided not to recall the drug; it required further studies about Avandia, however.

The many cases of heart ailments and deaths where Avandia is named to be the cause, plus Glaxo’s failure to include on the drug’s label its risks to health are enough to render the firm negligent of its responsibilities towards millions of patients. This means patients can run after Glaxo for compensation. But, patients ought to know that there is a statutory deadline for filing claims; missing this deadline will outrighlty disqualify them from making any claims.

The National Injury Law Center has been, and continues to be, a dedicated defender of patients’ rights. It has a website where patients’ questions about drugs’ adverse effects and medical errors are clearly answered and patients’ legal options are provided. Know if you are qualified to file a lawsuit claim, but make sure you file it on time, otherwise, you lose this right totally.