If you’ve ever suffered from heartburn, acid reflux, a peptic ulcer, or a sour stomach, you’ve probably taken Zantac. Available over the counter and by prescription, this medication has been a staple of medicine cabinets for decades.
Unfortunately, research findings in recent years have uncovered a frightening truth about this widely used medication. Far from being harmless, every dose taken puts people at risk for developing cancer due to the presence of N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA).
NDMA has been linked to more than a dozen types of cancer in human and animal studies. The cancer risk is so great that on April 1, 2020, the FDA requested the removal of all Zantac products from the U.S. market.
While there is no compensation large enough to make up for the amount of suffering that cancer causes, a Zantac cancer lawsuit attorney can help you fight back against the manufacturer. A Zantac cancer settlement or jury award can be used to pay for the best medical care available, ease your financial worries when your illness keeps you out of work, and give you financial peace of mind. Further, hiring a Zantac cancer attorney to hold the manufacturer accountable shows companies like the manufacturers of Zantac that they can’t get away with profiting off of drugs that pose serious dangers to users’ health.
Why Does Zantac Have NDMA?
Before filing lawsuits, Zantac cancer attorneys wanted to understand how NDMA came to contaminate Zantac. This is not the first time the carcinogen has been linked to a medication, but normally, it’s due to contamination that occurs in the laboratory.
However, research has shown that the problem with Zantac isn’t a case of isolated laboratory contamination. What researchers have found is that ranitidine becomes unstable when exposed to heat. This creates a reaction that produces high levels of NDMA.
Medications might be exposed to heat during transportation, storage, or even through bodily processes related to digestion. Whatever the case, the exposure to heat causes NDMA levels resulting from ranitidine to spike well above what the FDA deems to be “safe for consumption.”
According to the FDA, ingesting no more than 96 nanograms of NDMA per day is acceptable. Laboratory tests discovered that, when exposed to heat, NDMA can contain up to 31,000 times that level. It’s clear that Zantac has the potential to be very dangerous, which is why so many Americans are turning to experienced pharmaceutical injury lawyers to help them file Zantac cancer lawsuits for compensation.
The Kinds of Cancer Linked to Zantac
Researchers studying NDMA’s effects on both animals and humans have discovered links between this carcinogen and a variety of cancers, including:
- Bladder cancer
- Colon cancer
- Rectal cancer
- Stomach and gastric cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Lung cancer
- Brain cancer
- Oral cancers
In total, there are almost two dozen types of cancers you can develop from the NDMA exposure caused by taking Zantac.
If you have been diagnosed with any type of cancer, you should consult a Zantac cancer lawsuit attorney to see if it’s related to using the medication ranitidine. If it is, you can file a Zantac cancer lawsuit against the manufacturer – but you need to act fast.
Zantac Cancer Lawsuits
Zantac received FDA approval in 1983 and was the top-selling medication in the world by 1988. After years of exposure, many Americans have developed cancer and have hired Zantac cancer lawsuit attorneys for help. Attorneys across the country are filing lawsuits to help their clients – cancer victims and their families – receive compensation.
One such lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of Florida. Douglas Rochler claims that Zantac caused him to develop a rare bladder cancer, Newsday reported. Furthermore, his lawsuit states that the manufacturer knew about the cancer risk for decades but did not disclose the information or take the product off the shelves.
This is just one of many ranitidine cancer lawsuits that have been filed in court. Zantac cancer attorneys are busy preparing cases so they can win a judgment for their clients. Some cases have been filed by individual claimants, while there are also class-action lawsuits in the works.
Do You Have a Case?
If you have cancer and have taken Zantac in the past, you might be able to sue the manufacturer. Evidence shows that manufacturers did little to protect consumers, plaintiffs are claiming – despite the research that has suggested that the medication put people at risk for developing cancer.
Because of the considerable harm NDMA exposure from Zantac has caused to patients and their families across the country, the manufacturer must be held accountable.
To file a ranitidine cancer lawsuit, you must have documentation that proves your Zantac use. This can be a prescription, receipts for purchases, or a doctor’s note. You also must have documentation of your cancer diagnosis. Most importantly, you must be able to prove that Zantac played a part in causing your cancer, a burden that often requires you to bring in scientific and medical experts to review and give their opinions on your case.
This is where your Zantac lawsuit attorney can help. Your attorney will investigate the matter for you, work with experts to find out if Zantac caused your cancer, and use that evidence to build your claim for compensation.
It’s Not Too Late to Hold the Manufacturer Accountable
The manufacturers of Zantac have made lots of money over the years. Those earnings, unfortunately, came at the great expense of others – like you and your family.
If you’re one of the many Americans suffering from cancer due to Zantac, don’t let the manufacturer get away with the harm it has caused you. The company put your health at risk to make money, and – with the help of a Zantac cancer lawsuit attorney – you can recover the compensation your family needs to get through this indescribably difficult time.
No company should profit from a drug that causes so much suffering. Zantac attorneys are taking those profits back, one lawsuit at a time, and giving that money to the people who really deserve it: cancer patients and their loved ones.
There’s still time to file your Zantac cancer lawsuit, but deadlines are looming. Wait too much longer, and you could miss out on your chance to get the compensation you’re entitled to.