NEW YORK, April 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Lawsuits have been filed against the maker of Bextra on behalf of three people injured by the recently suspended prescription drug. Two of the plaintiffs suffered heart attacks and one sustained a stroke after taking the painkiller manufactured by Pfizer Inc.
The suits were filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York on Friday, one day after New York-based Pfizer removed Bextra from the market at the urging of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The plaintiffs are all represented by Thomas R. Kline of the Philadelphia law firm Kline & Specter, P.C., who on Friday was also named to the Plaintiffs Steering Committee in the federal litigation over Vioxx, like Bextra a COX-2 inhibitor drug (made by Merck & Co.) that has been removed from the market because of links to heart attack and stroke.
The Bextra lawsuits claim, among other things, that Pfizer failed to adequately and properly test Bextra and failed to warn doctors, patients and others about its potential risks. Studies showed that patients who used Bextra were more likely to suffer heart attacks and strokes.
The plaintiffs in the Bextra suit are:
- Luis G. Flores, 33, of Texas, who suffered a heart attack on Aug. 5, 2004 and, as a result, was forced to undergo two stent implantation surgeries.
- Jimmy Kitchen, 67, of Arkansas, who suffered a heart attack on June 12, 2002.
- Theodis Maddox, Jr., 48, of Arkansas, who suffered a stroke and temporary paralysis and weakness on his right side.
Kline & Specter (http://www.klinespecter.com/), with offices in Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York, represents people across the nation in pharmaceutical litigation and a wide range of catastrophic injury, mass tort, class action and complex litigation.
Kline & Specter, P.C.
CONTACT: Tom Kline of Kline & Specter, +1-215-772-1000 or+1-215-432-9065 (cell) or (preferred) tom.kline@klinespecter.com
Web site: http://www.klinespecter.com/
