Class action lawsuits

Just read this from wikipedia. Lots of you may already be aware of this, I had just not delved into it.

 

"Benzodiazepines have a unique history in that they were responsible for the largest-ever class-action lawsuit against drug manufacturers in the United Kingdom, involving 14,000 patients and 1,800 law firms that alleged the manufacturers knew of the dependence potential but intentionally withheld this information from doctors. At the same time, 117 general practitioners and 50 health authorities were sued by patients to recover damages for the harmful effects of dependence and withdrawal. This led some doctors to require a signed consent form from their patients and to recommend that all patients be adequately warned of the risks of dependence and withdrawal before starting treatment with benzodiazepines. The court case against the drug manufacturers never reached a verdict; legal aid had been withdrawn and there were allegations that the consultant psychiatrists, the expert witnesses, had a conflict of interest. This litigation led to changes in the British law, making class action lawsuits more difficult."

 

Well, that is just awesome!  I may be a little fish in a giant pond but today I signed up for a possible class action suit and for individual help for damages I have incurred directly from benzodiazepines. I lost my career, my mental health and ability to care for myself properly, not to mention my home and all property I owned and nearly my life. This battle sounds truly insurmountable but to suffer in silence seems tragically idiotic.

 

We all deserve to speak our minds about this, all of us that have suffered for so many years due to medical incompetence and the power of big pharma. My mind is very clear now and I can see that there was no other reason for my decline in mental health and ability but the long term use of klonopin. I may get nowhere fast but what can it hurt to try?

 

 

How did you sign up?

I will send you the site link. I like your new photo, lol, the biebs has gotten himself in a pickle!

Thanks. And Yeah the new profile photo, I wrote about him on my blog. He is such a dumbass. Time for rehab

I would love to go after BigPharma and the FDA.  Like many others, the clear decline of my mental health, along with the other destructive powers of this insidious drug are obvious.  I shall check Wikipedia and hope some amazing pro-bono legal eagles will take this on.

 

Thank KK

I never heard of this lawsuit. Is it true that doctors aren't informed of risk? Is it not listed in the information insert that comes with the drug in the UK?

-never mind I just saw that the law suit happened decades ago. This must have been before there was any warning of this possible side effect listed AT ALL.  Does anyone know when those warnings and possible side effects were added to the information that comes with the medication?

There are thousands if not millions of victims of Benzo prescriptions. Many are probably still using their prescribed poison not knowing the damage it is doing to their brains.  Just read "The Benzo Book" and  it explains very clearly how Big Pharma has rigged the approval process & fails to disclose dangers to doctors & patients all for more profits.  Problem is the FDA is in their pocket and usually sides with Big Pharma.  The Benzo Book is the best book I've read on Benzos and you can download it free. 

 

Korbe

Korbe, Thanks for that info! Yes so many are using benzos prescribed by their all knowing, all wise physicians... Gag me! You do not have to be ignorant to end up in this situation! I am still amazed at myself for getting so hopelessly addicted and how I plunged head on into using klonopin for years. And I am a registered nurse. If you read the drug information on what the mechanism of action is (in the brain), most psychiatric drugs state that "mechanism of action is unknown" Well, that is what I read back in the day and studied in nursing school about benzos prior to my serious addiction. There were definitely no clear or highlighted staunch warnings against addiction, long term effects and certainly nothing on the horrors of withdrawal! All this makes me irate and want to scream and certainly I want justice for my situation.

 

The reason that we cannot win or get any justice for the injuries we sustained from our benzo use to me seems to point directly to big businesses and their MONEY! So many pharmaceutical companies pad the pockets of doctors and politicians, this all happened ages ago in that legal case I mentioned from wikipedia. That set the precedent to protect the doctors and drug manufacturing companies no matter how we are harmed. What I wonder is why so many lawyers advertise to help you sue lots of drug companies, especially with new drugs, but nothing is possible to help with benzos? It seems rather twisted. This is my burning question that I am going to investigate. There is a reason that no one can seemingly be held liable for the serious issues caused by benzodiazepines I think an attorney probably can answer this question.

 

Katia,

I'd be very interested to hear what you find out. Please post it!

 

Thanks,

Kris

Katia,

You go get em girl!  I've got your back.  Please keep me posted as to anything you find out.  There has to be a way to hold the manufacturers accountable.

 

Korbe

Kris and Korbe I will keep you informed about what I find out. Wish I had money to screw them to the wall! 

Wow, I just found this statement in an online article.

 

"The UK continues to report on the dangers of benzodiazepine drug use in a way that the US media has simply never done. All the best mainstream media coverage on this class of drug comes from the UK. There is a much deeper and uglier denial about the problem in the United States"

 

What is wrong with our country? The deep and ugly denial about the problem is so disturbing on so many levels. After speaking to so many MD's that deny the problem exists, I knew that something was being covered up and just horribly wrong. Shaking my head in disgust!  :sick: :tickedoff:

Wow, I just found this statement in an online article.

 

"The UK continues to report on the dangers of benzodiazepine drug use in a way that the US media has simply never done. All the best mainstream media coverage on this class of drug comes from the UK. There is a much deeper and uglier denial about the problem in the United States"

 

What is wrong with our country? The deep and ugly denial about the problem is so disturbing on so many levels. After speaking to so many MD's that deny the problem exists, I knew that something was being covered up and just horribly wrong. Shaking my head in disgust!  :sick: :tickedoff:

 

In the US, lawsuits are a way of life. You see so many TV ads about law firms desperate to sign up victims of dangerous drugs for class action suits. But has anyone ever even seen one commercial about benzo lawsuits? No. We are way behind the 8 ball, compared to the UK. It's pathetic and makes me sick to my stomach. Betsy

The moral of this story is... Don't believe anything you're told, especially from your doctor. We all operate in a broken system where money is more important than people.

 

The money system IS the problem. If the motive was caring for all life on Earth rather than making a profit, all of these harmful drugs would disappear.

 

I've lost thousands of dollars, almost lost my family, been out of work for months, wiped out my savings, maxed out credit cards, suffered, etc. My boss asked me if I had considered legal action and my thought is that it's unlikely to result in a positive outcome. I am coming to the conclusion that healing and spreading awareness is the best use of my time.

 

Good luck though, I would love to see people get some of their losses back.

"My boss asked me if I had considered legal action and my thought is that it's unlikely to result in a positive outcome. I am coming to the conclusion that healing and spreading awareness is the best use of my time."

 

I agree wholeheartedly, most likely a lawsuit is not going to be successful. After all I have been through and am still going through I am not sure that I have the constitution to get through another emotional roller coaster via a series of legal battles! I am pretty exhausted. What made me start looking into it is my anger at the injustice of it all, especially since I am a health care professional. The healing profession is supposed to help, not hurt. That makes me truly angry. I have known for years that money is what makes the world including the medical community go 'round.

 

It is awfully sad that money is what matters to people first, not caring for each other. I think if by some miracle that I could get back to worse as a nurse I could educate people and make them aware of the dangers. However, nurses cannot contradict the treatment prescribed by the patient's physician. So I could run into a conflict of interest. Each situation would be different of course. I do admire you for making the commitment to help others heal and spread awareness. Like I said, I am pretty exhausted after going through all this already so I am not sure how long I could hang in with a major legal battle. Plus I have very limited financial resources, thanks to my years of being on klonopin, so that will be a major hindrance. One thing I do know about attorneys, they do not like to take cases unless they are fairly sure they can win!

 

So today I received my first rejection letter. I had reached out to an attorney that specializes in drug injury lawsuits. I sent him a description of my potential case including the fact that I was first prescribed klonopin in 1994. That was just the beginning of course but I am still suffering the consequences from taking it long term and now the withdrawal syndrome.

 

His letter simply said that his office could not help me, no specific reason was stated. However he did say that I should be aware of the statute of limitations in my case. No explanation of what that really meant either. I am guessing he is referring to the date I was first prescribed the stuff.

 

Now, I am no attorney or paralegal but this seemed like a bad sign of things to come. I am guessing that to find an attorney to take my case might be a huge undertaking. This attorney had a website advertising to help with drug injury lawsuits, of course benzodiazepines were not listed on the page. So other than emailing or phoning every damn attorney in the phone book in every state of the country, I am not sure where to start.

 

I need a Johnny Cochran type that got OJ off for murder! I could argue that benzos killed off any chances of a normal life that I had. Hmmm....

It's bizzare for sure and has everything to do with money or some corrupt agenda. It's obvious that these drugs screw people up and kill some. It's a reflection on humanity at preset.

After a little more searching I was able to find two law firms that advertise help with benzodiazepine injury. Basically it is medical malpractice it appears. I could contact one or both, but have suspicions that they know well that this is a lose/lose proposition to try to sue big money, big pharma for our injuries. It would then be directed at your physician that originally prescribed the drug. From all I have read so far, it seems that it will be difficult to prove malpractice.

 

However, physicians have known very well how very damaging the stuff is and yet few will admit it. I have seen videos of people completely physically destroyed from benzo use and yet they continue to take it. I believe that I have just touched the tip of the iceberg here and there must be volumes of documents regarding these lawsuits and true cases of malpractice.

 

It definitely is big business world wide, there are billions of prescriptions written daily and who knows how much money is being made off the sale of benzos? I watched a video about a physician trying to get xanax banned in Australia. What about all the other benzos that act the same way? A ban on them all for such reckless personal use would be a start to help cure the problem, of course it would still be used in hospitals and medical procedures. There would be a huge black market for all the addicted people. What would happen if it suddenly became illegal and all the people on it were forced into withdrawal like I was? I am guessing there would be lots of crime, especially murders. My knowledge of all this is simplistic I realize. The fountain of knowledge is out there somewhere. I think to find it will take lots of diligence.

I think they did make one benzo illegal in one state, if I recall correctly someone posted about it...so all the patients ended up having to taper off within a couple months before the law went into effect. I hope if they make them illegal they will at least give people a substantial time frame to get off them or else it will definitely become a crime situation...which would not help the government's valiant efforts on the so called war on drugs...

 

Sometimes I wonder if we really do live in a first world society

I know this isn't a clas action lawsuit but if you are interested you on www.change.org you can sign a petition labeled:

 

FDA: Stop Prescription Addiction and Harm; Ban Long-Term Prescriptions of Benzodiazepines

 

The woman who created the petition needs approximately 25 more signatures and she will be forwarding the petition to the FDA. Check it out if you are interested. I got  my family and friends to sign after they have seen what benzo withdrawal has done to me.

 

Although personally I feel a class action lawsuit is really what's needed.

Thanks, I am pretty sure I signed that one already.