Every time you take medication, you are putting your trust in the doctors who prescribe it, the pharmacists who fill it, the grocery stores who stock it, and the manufacturers who test and produce it. When you discover that medication meant to help and heal you have harmed your body and allowed a disease like cancer to take hold, it can feel like a devastating violation of trust.

In the past several years, the FDA has taken multiple medications off the shelf after discovering disturbing levels of cancer-causing carcinogens. An exceedingly popular medication, Zantac, has been in the spotlight recently as the drug is in the midst of a recall and a class-action lawsuit for allegedly causing cancer. Let’s discuss why Zantac is harmful, the details of the class-action suit, and how you can join if you’ve been harmed by this medication.

Is Zantac Harmful?

The class-action lawsuit is filed against Zantac, a popular antacid used to treat heartburn. This is a medication you could pick up on a grocery store shelf, and millions of Americans used Zantac regularly before it was recalled in 2020 by the FDA for containing unacceptable levels of Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), a known carcinogen that can cause cancer and other health complications when in the body.

The NDMA levels were first detected in a routine test done by a pharmacy called Valisure. The tests discovered unacceptable levels of NDMA in virtually every batch of Zantac and found that the carcinogen levels are exacerbated by factors like heat and product age.

What You Need To Know About The Case

The lawsuit alleges that the manufacturing company knew about the NMDA levels, and did nothing to alert the public of Zantac’s potentially cancer-causing side effects, and the case is built on data corroborating the claim that NDMA indeed causes cancer.

For example, take another drug containing NDMA called Valsartan. The FDA predicted previously that 1 in 8,000 patients who took Valsartan may develop cancer. If the NDMA levels in this drug were harmful enough to cause cancer, shouldn’t Sanofi, the manufacturer of Zantac, have known that their product was harmful and warned the public accordingly?

The class-action suit has honed in on 10 major cancer types to highlight, including liver, lung, breast, pancreatic, and kidney. Lawyers on the Zantac class-action suit estimate there are already over 500 cases and millions of Americans who took this leading heartburn medication seeking relief. In light of these numbers, law professionals estimate that many more will soon come forward.

What Is A Class-Action Lawsuit?

A Class-action lawsuit is a special type of litigation that is brought forth by a group of people harmed by the same product, corporation, or action. Each member of the group “joins” the class-action lawsuit by hiring their own lawyer to collect evidence of harm, compile their case, and present it alongside others in the class-action.

The idea behind a class-action lawsuit is that there is power in numbers when taking on a major corporation in the court of law. For example, thousands are harmed by taking Zantac and believe that it contributed to their cancer diagnosis, health complications, and a subsequent pile of medical bills. If one person files, the court may dismiss the case due to lack of proof… who’s to say it was indeed the medication that caused the harm, and not other factors?

If several hundred plaintiffs file a class-action suit, the legal team is able to establish a pattern (i.e. all of the plaintiffs took Zantac regularly over the period of several years and all developed health complications) and has a greater chance of winning the case and gaining compensation for everyone who is suffering at the hands of a major corporation.

How You Can Get Involved

The purpose of filing a class-action lawsuit is to gain justice for those who took medication that they were promised would help them, but it ended up harming them. The American Cancer Society estimates that over 70,000 Illinois residents will receive a cancer diagnosis in 2021. If your cancer was caused by Zantac, wouldn’t you want answers?

If you or someone you know has regularly taken Zantac and subsequently been diagnosed with cancer, you may want to get involved in the Zantac class-action lawsuit against the drug manufacturer Sanofi.

The first step to getting involved is to contact a personal injury lawyer. A law professional can help you organize your case and receive compensation for your illness through a settlement. The best part is, most personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, so you only have to pay after your case is won and you’ve received compensation.

Conclusion

The drug manufacturers who produce products with known carcinogens must be held accountable for the damage they inflict upon customers seeking medical help. Win justice for yourself or a loved one by contacting a lawyer if you have received a cancer diagnosis after regular use of the drug Zantac.