Son Files a Wrongful Death Prilosec Lawsuit on Behalf of Deceased Dad

Prilosec is an over-the-counter treatment for frequent heartburn. In November 2016, a man filed a wrongful death lawsuit against AstraZeneca, who manufactures Prilosec, claiming that the pharmaceutical giant failed to warn consumers about the risks of developing acute interstitial nephritis (AIN). Mr. Rodriguez’s wrongful death lawsuit (Rodriguez v. AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP et al) was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas on behalf of his deceased father, Frank Rodriguez, who Alejandro says would still be alive had he been warned that using Prilosec carried the risk of kidney injuries.

FDA safety warnings and precautions

Prilosec is a proton pump inhibitor (PPI), which works by turning off many of the proton pumps that produce the excess acid that causes frequent heartburn while leaving enough of the pumps on for digestion. In December 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety warning about Prilosec and required changes to product labeling to include a warning about the risk of Acute Interstitial Nephritis (AIN) with Prilosec. Some of the most common side-effects of Prilosec include:

• Diarrhea
• Headache
• Stomach cramps

Less common side-effects of Prilosec include:

• Sinus infection
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Coughing
• Dizziness
• Chest pain

Prilosec has been on the market since 2003, but recently there have been several scientific studies that draw a correlation between Prilosec and kidney problems including AIN. Canadian researchers found that those who took Prilosec and other PPI drugs might be at 2.5 times greater risk for acute kidney injury. Researchers with the Department of Veterans Affairs reported that users of Prilosec and other PPIs could be 96 percent more likely to develop kidney failure, and 28 percent more likely to develop other kidney problems after taking the drug for five years.

Unfortunately, many of these studies came too late for Frank Rodriguez, who died in 2014 from kidney failure after having taken the heartburn drug for 12 years. Alejandro’s lawsuit claims that AstraZeneca knew about Prilosec’s link to AIN and other kidney injuries, yet they failed to warn consumers about the danger. Mr. Rodriguez’s lawsuit is among dozens of lawsuits with similar claims from consumers who took Prilosec and suffered kidney failure or other kidney injuries after having taken Prilosec or another PPI drug.