14 replies to this topic

[fiddy64]

Hi,

 

My name is Bob Fiddaman, I write the Fiddaman blog and am a published author.

 

In the main, I write about the risks of antidepressants as, I myself, suffered horrific withdrawal problems at the hands of Seroxat (known as Paxil in the US)
 

Earlier today I learned that a number of individual lawsuits have been filed in the US regarding Cymbalta and its propensity to cause severe withdrawal reactions.

You can read the press release here from Los Angeles attorneys Baum Hedlund.

 

http://www.baumhedlu...of-lawsuits.php

Thanks

 

Bob Fiddaman

 

http://fiddaman.blogspot.com

[fishinghat]

Thank you for the information. It is appreciated.

[thismoment]

Thank you Bob.

[fiddy64]

Thank you for allowing me to post the link.

Eli Lilly, according to the lawsuit, have lied about the withdrawal risk for many years, the label wrongly claims that Cymbalta only has a 1% withdrawal risk, when in actual fact Cymbalta studies show a much higher risk rate - between 44% to 50% withdrawal risk!

I know how difficult it can be tapering from antidepressants, having suffered myself and having spoken to many people who have also suffered these horrific withdrawal experience.

Great that there is a good support system in place here on this forum.

[FiveNotions]

Thanks for posting this information, Bob ... and welcome to the forum ... it sounds like you "made it" and got off the crap very successfully ... please consider sharing more about your experience ... both on the stuff and getting off it ... you'd make a valuable addition to our little group!
 
Also, you may have seen this already, but here's a link to a post from another law firm, Knox Ricksen, that's also going to take on Lilly and Cymbalta ... focusing on the withdrawal "syndrome" (a code word for "HELL") .... a number of us here have already contacted them and been accepted/signed up for the effort ... I've researched the firm, and they're solid ... excellent reputation, and excellent success rate on some very big cases ...

https://www.cymbalta...alta-withdrawal

[fiddy64]

I imagine my withdrawal on Paxil is similar to those of you who are suffering on Cymbalta. I wrote a book about my withdrawal problems and subsequent research into GSK and the UK medicine regulators, the MHRA. It's available at most online stores - I won't provide any links because that would seem like I'm just on here to promote my book :-)

Baum Hedlund, who are running the Cymbalta lawsuits, are a good bunch of people. I met them out in the States a few years ago. They've been successful many times in pharmaceutical litigation :-)

I may have some tips for your readers re withdrawal, stuff that helped me through the Paxil zaps etc. If you want me to post them let me know :-)

Fid.

[fishinghat]

Any and all suggestions are always welcome fiddy. Thank you.

[doingitafraid]

Been trying to tapper from anti depressants for 25 years, only to have to go back on due to horrid withdrawal.  I am VERY interested in joining a lawsuit.

[fiddy64]

Been trying to tapper from anti depressants for 25 years, only to have to go back on due to horrid withdrawal.  I am VERY interested in joining a lawsuit.

I'm unsure if Cymbalta comes in liquid form?

Tapering using the liquid is an easier method. Any good pharmacist should be able to convert capsules to liquid. Only problem here is that it's a slow release.

What problems are you having when trying to taper?

Re lawsuit - get in touch with Baum here - http://www.baumhedlu...com/contact.php

[FiveNotions]

Hi Fiddy,

As a former attorney with a couple of major firms here in the US, one of which represented big pharma cos and the industry association itself, here's a bit of information about US law firms and the types of law they practice ... it also explains why I've chosen to be represented by Knox Ricksen and not a firm like Baum Hedlund. (Which is, by all accounts, an excellent firm.)

Baum Hedlund specializes in "personal injury and wrongful death" cases ... on behalf of individuals ... each case is handled filed with the court as a unique issue ...PI and WD firms focus almost exclusively on seeking damages for individuals who have been "bitten by the dragon" ... they make the dragon bleed a bit, but it lives on to harm others ...

This is a significantly different focus from that of the Knox Ricksen firm, which specializes in healthcare, medical device and pharmaceutical fraud ... they focus on the "big picture" ... they go after the pharma cos, medical device manufacturers themselves ... they are the "dragon slayers" ... http://www.knoxricks...om/?page_id=929

They do seek damages for those who've been harmed, but their focus is to stop the evil at its source, ideally by fatally wounding the dragon and putting it out of business, at a minimum, cutting off an arm or a leg and causing it to stop producing a product, close down a research project, etc.      http://www.knoxricks.../?page_id=10696

As an attorney, as a firm, it's Knox Ricksen I'd hate to have to do battle with ... as "dragon-slayers"... KR is the one to fear, because they'd be the ones trying to kill my client altogether (and that was the source of our firm livelihood ... our "deep pocket" so to speak) ...

Baum would be tough, but a minor inconvenience in comparison ... they might make my dragon (client) bleed a bit, even a lot, but it would survive to kill/harm again, and I'd continue to have my "deep pocket" source of personal and firm income...

 

This difference ... strategic difference ... is why I've chosen to be represented by Knox Ricksen, and not a PI firm such as Baum Hedlund .... both excellent firms, but my goal is to kill the dragon, not just give it a flesh wound .....

[fiddy64]

Thanks for that.

 

 

I hear you on Knox Ricksen.  They seem like a great firm, but I really don’t know anything about them.  From what I can tell, they haven’t filed any cases about Cymbalta withdrawal, so it’s hard to tell if they are taking the “head off the dragon.”  Until I see some action on that front, I am taking a wait-and-see approach. 

 

 

 

That said, from what I can tell, Baum Hedlund and its co-counsel Keller Rohrback (a big firm in Seattle) and Pogust Braslow Millrood (a Pennsylvania firm with a lot of pharma experience) have been litigating Cymbalta withdrawal cases and a class action against Lilly for two years and they filed a couple dozen more last week.  http://www.baumhedlu...lta/lawsuit.php.  The class action looks pretty intense.  http://www.law360.com/articles/411089/lilly-fights-cymbalta-brain-zaps-suit-saying-it-warned-docs.  

 

 

 

I also know that BH was head of the Paxil withdrawal cases and has been a major player in antidepressant litigation for the last 25 years.  Take a look at their recent settlement related to Celexa and Lexapro.  http://www.stltoday....68b9fc7623.html. I am not totally sure I’d call them a “minor inconvenience.”  I mean they litigated over 3,000 Paxil withdrawal cases back in the mid 2000’s for injuries that very similar to Cymbalta withdrawal.   

 

 

 

Honestly, I am just happy somebody is finally doing something about this.  Cymbalta withdrawal is a serious problem and I hope these lawyers can make a difference. 

[FiveNotions]

Hi Fiddy, excellent points and observations ... I'm really glad you've joined us, you've got "warrior" written all over you!

thanks for the article on the Cymbalta class actions lawsuits ...

I saw that it was from Jan 2013, so thought I'd try to find what the latest was ... here's a link ... http://www.law360.co...s-to-california
 
There have been a "zillion" different Cymbalta lawsuits, all arising from essentially the same cause of action, filed in US federal courts in almost all of our States ... they have now individually progressed to a point where they are sufficiently "ripe" (that is, still alive, haven't been thrown out of court, and are at similar states of the legal process) to have seek to have them all sent to the same court to be handled together ...

from this article, it looks like there's an effort to consolidate them and send them all to federal district court in California .... I'll have to take a much more careful look at this and do some real research to figure out why it's California Fed District Court that plaintiffs' attorneys think should be the one to handle this ...

The reason that Knox Ricksen isn't involved at this level is a matter of legal strategy ... I've spoken at length with representatives of the firm on their Cymbalta Team (fully staffed, massively funded), and they've been working on this behind the scenes for a good long time ... they've got a plan, and a very good oone, for how and when to make their move ...

for obvious reasons, they don't want to make this known publically ... bear in mind that Eli Lilly's in-house and "out-house" attorneys read this blog regularly....

The Cymbalta lawsuits I've read about so far (just a few, so please correct me if I'm wrong here), focus primarily on injuries sustained while on the drug ... they don't focus specifically on the "withdrawal syndrome" ... if this is correct, then it would be logical to wait until the cases involving harm done by the drug while taking it are resolved ... ideally, resolved in favor of the plaintiffs .... then, with that foundation as support, the focus can shift to the damage done while getting off the drug ... "withdrawal syndrome" ...

Also interesting to me is that KR is a California-based firm ... the state to which the ongoing Cymbalta suits will be moved (if that can actually be made to happen) ...

I encourage you to contact KR directly and speak with Zachary Johnson, their "point man" for this issue. He'd be happy to answer your questions, and I think they'd like to know about all the work you've done / are doing on this, Paxil and the issue of these drugs as a whole!

[tomitsu]

The cases are focusing on damages due to cessation of cymbalta not injury while on drug. It's about the withdrawal.

[fishinghat]

Good to hear from you again Tomitsu. Sorry that after this long you are still having problems although not too uprised by it. God bless and get well.

[FiveNotions]

Tomitsu, I'm so sorry you're still suffering and that your struggle continues....

 

I arrived here last December, and I don't recall your posts from that time... I see that you joined in 2012, so perhaps by late last year you weren't posting as much here... welcome back, once a member, always a member ... and glad to know you're part of the legal battle ... the more of us there are, the better ... safety, and victory, in numbers!

 

I hope you feel well enuf to stay around and keep posting. You're a longer period off the stuff than most of us here, and we could benefit greatly from your knowledge and experience!