Lawsuits for psychiatric drug withdrawal & adverse effects

[Shanti]

Has anyone contacted a lawyer about their withdrawal? I wrote to one but didn't hear back from him. Are there any class action lawsuits about this?

[Barbarannamated]

I contacted 2 lawyers back in July when it ws suspected that I had endocrine involvement possibly worsened by ADs. This was NOT withdrawal related and I didn't have much info when I called. They said to call back when my doc would say that there was causation.

I called 2 lawyers listed in Peter Breggin's book.

 

At ISEPP Conference in LA, I spoke w/lawyer from a firm in Los Angeles who is pursuing antidepressants lawsuits although I don't know if they've looked at WD specifically.

 

Let me find their info and get it to you, Shanti.

[compsports]

Has anyone contacted a lawyer about their withdrawal? I wrote to one but didn't hear back from him. Are there any class action lawsuits about this?

 

I understand it is very hard to sue unless suicide is involved. And even then, it is tough.

 

CS

[Altostrata]

I pursued this very thoroughly. No injury lawsuit attorneys will take withdrawal cases any more, since the drug companies put the warnings about withdrawal on antidepressant package inserts.

 

The injury attorneys are only taking suicide cases or cases where a newborn was injured by medications taken by the mother.

 

You might be able to sue the doctor, but that's long, complicated, and expensive. You'll have to pay an attorney out-of-pocket.

 

If you've ever had a psychiatric diagnosis, they can easily say your symptoms are relapse. Also, your own statements will lack credibility because of the psychiatric diagnosis. You have to hire experts to support your claim.

 

The process will rake over your medical history, personal life, and psychiatric state in great detail and can be quite traumatic in itself.

 

If you ever have a spare $100,000, you might want to give it a shot.

[Barbarannamated]

Yep, I called the lawyers when I was enraged and thought my case was different-ha! The disproven chemical imbalance theory will probably play to their advantage at some point.

 

I wasn't even aware of wd at that point.

The lawyer I talked to was with a woman whose husband commited suicide on Zoloft.

 

There were succesful class action suits against Lilly/Zyprexa w/diabetes. Measureable lab values, weight gain in short time on drug.

 

I'm having a hard time this week w/the injustice system -- Penn State, the teacher bullying the disabled student and this. It sucks to realize how little power I have and the legal system will protect the ones doing harm (in our case).

[Altostrata]

When it comes to getting psychiatry straightened out, we have to do it ourselves, Bar.

[Barbarannamated]

When it comes to getting psychiatry straightened out, we have to do it ourselves, Bar.

 

Perhaps an implosion ?

[Altostrata]

 

When it comes to getting psychiatry straightened out, we have to do it ourselves, Bar.

 

Perhaps an implosion ?

 

Can gasbags implode?

[enufodat]

Nineteen law suits filed against Pfizer in W. Virginia, all focused on birth defects, an increase of which while taking Zoloft apparently has been fairly well documented in the past several years. http://fortworth.legalexaminer.com/fda-and-prescription-drugs/new-zoloft-heart-defect-and-birth-defect-lawsuits-filed-in-west-virginia.aspx?googleid=303540

 

Towards the end of the article it mentions there are more than a hundred extant such suits in other states and that they are likely to be "funneled" to eastern district court.

 

Interestingly, the article says the suits charged Pfizer either knew or "should have known" about such effects. No idea on the legal particulars, but if they can be held responsible for a LACK of information they "should" have had (i.e., proper research and risk asessment prior to going to market) that would seem to possibly open up other avenues. Of course, we then have to look at the FDA, which was supposed to have oversight. To play a bit of devil's advocate: should a corporation that is legally required to maximize profits for its shareholders be held responsible for FDA not holding its feet to the fire? Of course then we have the recent Glaxo business, where they clearly committed out-and-out fraud. Who knows where the precise mix of responsibility lies.

 

Somewhere else today (sorry, forget where!) there was also mention of recent research showing somewhat less but still significant increase in birth defects even when women had discontinued use prior to pregnancy.

[UnfoldingSky]

Current withdrawal lawsuit info for Cymbalta can be found here (includes link to legal website where you can apply to be part of class actions if they are in your area):

 

http://fiddaman.blogspot.ca/2014/08/eli-lilly-to-face-cymbalta-lawsuits.html

 

Here's a quote from the legal office that is taking some of the cases:

 

“We believe that Lilly’s warning that Cymbalta withdrawal occurs at a rate greater than or equal to 1% is deceptive.  It is just a sleight of hand.  One of Lilly’s own studies shows that over 50% of patients experience withdrawal when they stop Cymbalta.  1% is not 50%, not even close.  A drug label is not the place to play games with words.  It is a place to honestly inform doctors and patients about the benefits and risks of medicines so they can make informed choices.  Our clients feel strongly that they were betrayed by Lilly and we will do all we can to ensure their voices are heard by the courts.” - R. Brent Wisner, Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman, P.C

 

 

[FeralUrban]

I note that there are 338 pages in the list of members.

 

I had to send my AWS scale back to the company as it broke.

 

I have had two conversations and a few emails back and forth with Jermel, who handles returns. He had mentioned that many people speak to him about how to use the scales for medication reduction.

 

He said that he speaks with at least two people a week about how to use the scale. 

 

I am just wondering, how big is the problem of serotonin drug withdrawal?

 

Are we talking thousands?

Tens of thousands?

Hundreds of thousands?

Millions?

 

And even if it is in the 10s of thousands, why isn't there an organized lawsuit? Or an FDA process to issue something like a black box warning?

 

I don't know if this is the correct forum to post this, so admins, feel free to move it if need be.

 

 

[peng]

I would say millions, undoubtedly.  We are a few compacted snowflakes in an iceberg, here on SA.

I am not an admin - just my personal view after decades of experience with the drugs, and reading. 

[LexAnger]

I once read there are 16,000 on this forum.

[Skeeter]

16,000 on this forum at least is an insanely high number, I ha no clue it was that high.  Then if you add the fact that I would guess that most of us know more people that have had issues with these meds, the number increases exponentially!

 

Sadly I wonder if people who are concerned about the meds and wish to try their life with less drugs, if instead, more drugs are pushed by the Pdoc? Can anyone with experience help me on that?   I am lucky enough thus far to have avoided seeing a psychiatrist.  Is it true that if you have a side effect they give you another drug, but also add another "diagnosis" to your file that you are now stuck with for life?

 

Thanks.

Skeeter

[FeralUrban]

There are 20 people on each page of the member list.

388 pages

7,760 individuals on this forum

 

I find it weird that this hasn't been a journalistic expose at the least. 

[nz11]

millions

With millions having problems they don't even know about yet.

 

The prior place site I was in before it was taken down was getting a million hits a month.

[tntd]

This truly is a sad commentary on psychiatry. I'm reading Anatomy of an Epidemic by Robert Whitaker. It pretty succintly explains how we came to be in this mess, and it kind of makes me mad too.

[FeralUrban]

Oh yes, I'm pretty angry. 

 

I'm in a completely iatrogenic catastrophe. 

 

And I don't know really, if this will cripple me for life with pain and ANS dysfunction, or I may possibly find a way out. 

 

I'm a pretty tough person, but at at 59, I have to say this year has completely depleted me. I'm a shadow of my former self. I was a doer, a learner, a knower, a teacher. Now I'm forced to severely limit activity, emotion, concentration, etc. If I "over do it" I pay with pain. that means if I am physically active in a very moderate way for more than an hour or two, I'm in pain. If I get emotional, I'll be in pain. If I drive, I'll be in pain. And my concentration is completely blown. 

 

But I am working on the spiritual side of things and that is going a bit better. But lord, this is tough.

 

I tried contacting a law suit company that does this kind of work. Gave them all the info, never heard back. Sad.

[syzygyea]

I've been familiar with this website for over a year and only created a profile a few days ago. Membership isn't an accurate reflection of participation on this site. 

 

I'm also wondering how this is kept so quiet. To be fair, it wasn't until recently that I became angry about my story - and mine is a decade plus (I just didn't notice because it was uneventful).

 

And I am so, so angry about the pervasive lack of informed consent. I was 16 when I took my first SSRI. Would have been safer to give me crack!

[Henosis]

I rarely consider litigation to be a good option (especially in my overzealous, entitled American society), but I'm now starting to wonder about this. I'm re-tapering Paxil at the moment after a horrific withdrawal.

 

I've only done cursory research, but GlaxoSmithKline has been sued successfully multiple times over Paxil withdrawal in California, suicides, hiding clinical trial data, etc. they were fined $8 BILLION already by the US FDA.

My problems aside, the fact that they have repackaged it into "Brisdelle" and are selling it for hot flashes during menopause has pushed me over the edge!

 

It's complicated because we have people from different countries and on different SSRIs here, but I'd jump into a USA Paxil class action lawsuit in a heartbeat.

 

Is there a thread for active lawsuits? Or successful lawsuits? does the blackbox labeling matter? It certainly doesn't mention prolonged, horrific symptoms. All interesting questions.

[ChessieCat]

Here's what my search on google survivingantidepressants.org lawsuit brought up:

 

survivingantidepressants.org+lawsuit

[brassmonkey]

The current site statistics list 6,901 members. If you watch the usage numbers there are usually 10 nonmembers using the site for every 1 registered member which would indicate sustained traffic of about 70,000. The actual hit rate would be much higher. Just for this site.  Before it closed PaxilProgress.com  had a membership of about 17,000 and about the same ratio of nonusers as we have here.  As Nz11 pointed out their average traffic was over 1 million hits a month.

 

The statistics I can remember (but are a few years out of date) say that in the USofA one in ten people are taking ADs.  That would give is well over 30 million people in this one country alone.  The world wide usage is probably triple that.  Then you throw in all the people taking menopause, anti-smoking and pain medication that are really ADs with a different name and we're starting to get a sizable population.

 

It's estimated (there are no real statistics) that 80% of the people taking the drugs will have real trouble getting off of them and of those most will end up back on the drugs because "their original condition" keeps coming back.  A problem we know is false. Of the 20% that have little trouble getting off a large portion will be back on with in a few years.

 

So to answer the FeralUrbans' question, Millions and Millions of us, and the number is growing daily.

[nz11]

Well summarized Brass. yep the numbers are staggering!

Dont know why i thought there was 16000 members here maybe i got confused with pp membership oh well one thing is for sure getting 16000 members here is not a matter of if just a matter of when.

[Jaco2016]

I was wondering if anyone has considered taking legal action against a drug company for the hell that you r been through trying to get off AD? Also if anyone has seen or even considered making your own documentary to bring public awareness to drug w/d? There is obviously so much information and so many stories here on this forum one could easily (considering they can manage their w/d symptoms) make a long documentary about this!!!

[Dez]

I think a documentary would be a great idea. While my symptoms aren't as bad as others, I'd be a willing participant. Too many people are going through this and they shouldn't be. Some people lose years of quality of life from these withdrawals. As for a lawsuit, with very few doctors even acknowledging this, I'm not sure if it would hold up. It'd be great to try.

[ccdiane]

I also think that the more public awareness is what's needed. However, out west here, one seems to be a lonely star. Especially, like with my sister, whom I had gotten permission from her practitioner to taper her off 3 harmful drugs. Unfortunately, that almost 2 years of freedom was erupted by a state agency and the health administration which claims their decision was based on the medical community. So once again, being pulled back into the system with 3 drugs again, my sister tells me, and there seems to be no help legally or medically to free her because of guardian through a non-profit corporation who has stopped her legally 3 times as of now. She so desperately wants back with the family to live her own life. But unless, there is what I call a "loophole" in the medical and legal system, she may not experience a free drug life again. Sorry for putting it that way. 

[Jayjohnny]

It's easier said than done is the only problem. There are no tests, as of yet, which can detect if a drug is still in ones system after a year or longer. Only then would doctors admit to this and this would allow lawsuits to move forward!! Until the day comes, the drug companies have the upper hand since it is very hard to prove!

[Martina23]

I am trying now to sue but it is almost impossible. To sue doctors is impossible as you can not really prove that they did not inform you on the side effects. To sue a big pharma is very difficult. There is a problem to find a lawyer, there is a problem to find an expert witness (at least in my country, maybe in US it is already better, but they are very expensive - at least the good ones, somewhere was written, that by bigger trials you can pay up to  100.000 Dollar on expenditures for expert witnesses) and I would recomment to find a legal funding company, as if you lose you have to pay also laywers from big pharma and that is a lot of money. And there are not many legal funding companies which would take the case, as it is sensitive matter. I think to sue in US may be already sucessful if you have a good lawyer and expert witness, outside of US it is still tough and quite a risk.

 

I still try but time is going, I am near the filing dealine and I still dont have any measurable breakthrough.

[Mort81]

Very few people I think have succeeded in sueing these dirt bags. I wish u luck. Something needs to breakthrough for all of us to be able to sue. I saw a 300 person cymbalta lawsuit failed. They all complained about the discontinuation symptoms and the judge through it out. There's almost no justice for us. I think a guy named Luke Montague successfully sued he was awarded 600,000. Not sure how much he got to keep with lawyer inflation.

[Jaco2016]

I am trying now to sue but it is almost impossible. To sue doctors is impossible as you can not really prove that they did not inform you on the side effects. To sue a big pharma is very difficult. There is a problem to find a lawyer, there is a problem to find an expert witness (at least in my country, maybe in US it is already better, but they are very expensive - at least the good ones, somewhere was written, that by bigger trials you can pay up to  100.000 Dollar on expenditures for expert witnesses) and I would recomment to find a legal funding company, as if you lose you have to pay also laywers from big pharma and that is a lot of money. And there are not many legal funding companies which would take the case, as it is sensitive matter. I think to sue in US may be already sucessful if you have a good lawyer and expert witness, outside of US it is still tough and quite a risk.

 

I still try but time is going, I am near the filing dealine and I still dont have any measurable breakthrough.

Please keep us posted how things go!

[Martina23]

Mort, a 300 cymbalta persons lawsuit failed? Oh my God. That is quite an unjustice.

[Junglechicken]

Last year, I took part in the BBC2 documentary about the serious side effects of anti-depressants which was part of the Victoria Derbyshire show.

 

I think there will be a follow up programme at some point.

[Junglechicken]

Very few people I think have succeeded in sueing these dirt bags. I wish u luck. Something needs to breakthrough for all of us to be able to sue. I saw a 300 person cymbalta lawsuit failed. They all complained about the discontinuation symptoms and the judge through it out. There's almost no justice for us. I think a guy named Luke Montague successfully sued he was awarded 600,000. Not sure how much he got to keep with lawyer inflation.

Mort, he is British aristocracy so has clout and connections. He was awarded £1.3M including cost of legal fees.

[zebb]

I just lost an appeal then come across this and it made me realise then why I didn't stand a chance. Most of us don't stand a chance they have it all very well worked out before you even try. 

 

https://healthwyze.org/archive/zoloft_defense_manual.pdf

[zebb]

Documentary's and everyone telling their stories is probably one way or mass petitions or something. Everyone should write to their MP's on the same day with media in attendance or something. I don't know its hard to know whats the best thing way to do things but what ever we do do I think it best that everyone works together in large numbers. On your own is just pointless.

[zebb]

Read the pill that steals lives latest story. It was in this story I obtained the above information.

 

http://www.thepillthatsteals.com/blog/2017/1/14/guest-blog-from-kurt-danish