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Zantac And Cancer:  Court Indicates It Will Study Relationship

Zantac And Cancer: Court Indicates It Will Study Relationship

Alabama Accident & Injury LawyersWe are closely following developments in the Zantac (Ranitidine) injury litigation. In recent months, our office has started investigating numerous potential cancer injury cases involving the drug.

What makes Zantac dangerous? How is Ranitidine (as Zantac is known generically) linked to numerous cancers? For detailed information, you can read a couple articles I’ve written on the drug and its link to cancers. You can find them here:

  • Zantac Cancer Lawsuits – You can find this article in the Hot Topics section of our law firm website. It is a lengthy article where I discuss the drug, how it works and its association with potential cancer. As I discuss in the article, Zantac contains NDMA which is a highly carcinogenic compound.
  • Zantac Pulled From Shelves Due To Cancer Risks – You can find this article on my blog. It is a shorter article where I discuss regulatory developments with Zantac leading to its withdrawal from pharmacy shelves.

If you want to understand what makes Zantac dangerous and how it reacts in the body to potentially cause cancer, I would suggest first reading the full Hot Topics article. Zantac cases in Federal Court have now been consolidated for pre-trial purposes before a judge in Florida. That means one judge will oversee issues involving discovery and motions prior to trial. This is common for drug and device injury cases where a single product injures thousands of consumers across the nation.

If you are an Alabama consumer injured by Zantac, you need an Alabama lawyer. Why? Two reasons are clear. After pre-trial issues are completed, these cases are sent back to their local Federal Court for trial. That means Alabama consumers will have their cases heard locally if they do not settle. Also, most of your treatment and care likely occurred in Alabama. A skilled local personal injury lawyer can work with your local clinics and doctors. I believe the local connection between doctors and lawyers is important to building your case.

What are current developments in the Zantac injury litigation? We expect thousands of cases to be filed across the nation. So, the Federal Judge overseeing these cases will be busy.

In late May, the Judge entered a new pre-trial order. It signals he intends to move these cases forward. That’s good. Too many drug and device cases sit for years until completion. The Judge detailed his plan to move the cases to completion. For the next 18 months, the parties will engage in discovery (gathering information about the issues and links between Zantac and cancer). Then, the Judge will allow challenges to potential expert testimony.

It will be very interesting to see what is learned over the next 18 months. NDMA is a highly carcinogenic chemical. Current information indicates processes in the human stomach and other organs react with Ranitidine to produce NDMA. I believe the science linking the drug to a number of cancers is pretty strong. What did the manufacturer know? What testing did it perform? In prior drug and device cases, discovery has often revealed manufacturers knew their drug was dangerous. Some companies even hid bad test results while continuing to sell their products.

We will continue to follow Zantac injury developments. As cases move forward, we will provide additional updates. Until then, I’m linking below a quick slideshow I created on the drug and cancer. Feel free to view and share it:

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From its office in Huntsville, the Blackwell Law Firm represents people with serious personal injuries across Alabama. Outside court, we continue to advocate for safer products, safer workplaces and safer highways. If you have questions about a personal injury or accident issue, let us know. Consultations are always free and confidential.