Family of Humira Patient Receives $2.24 Million in Personal Injury Lawsuit
The family of a woman who died from a serious side effect related to Humira has been awarded $2.24 million in a personal injury lawsuit.
On Thursday, May 30th, the jury entered a verdict in favor of the plaintiff against Humira, Milton Tietz, who had filed the personal injury lawsuit on his wife’s behalf. According to Tietz, the drug manufacturer did not do enough to warn doctors about the severity of the side effects that came with taking Humira. His negligence lawsuit was awarded $2.24 million.
“We were stunned,” her son, Curtis Tietz, said of the award. “We were pleased with the verdict and the victory it provided my mom.”
According to the lawsuit, Delores Tietz was prescribed Humira to help with her rheumatoid arthritis in October 2009. After she took the drug for seven months, she began to experience chest pain and fevers, and was later diagnosed with histoplasmosis, which had been induced by Humira. Because she was diagnosed very late, she did not survive.
“We felt somebody should be held responsible for this,” said her husband, Milton Tietz. “It was not really the hospital’s fault and not the doctor’s fault. It was Abbott Laboratories.”
In 2008, the FDA issued an alert to all manufacturers of TNF blockers like Humira to provide new information to doctors and pharmacists about the high risk of histoplasmosis. Tietz’s lawsuit alleges that Abbott Laboratories failed to send the required letter to physicians, alerting them to the risks associated with their drug, until May 17, 2010 – 20 months after the initial FDA alert, and 10 days after Delores Tietz was hospitalized.
Histoplasmosis is a fungal infection caused by the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum. The infection primarily targets the lungs, but can occasionally move to other organ systems and is sometimes fatal. Symptoms of histoplasmosis can be mistaken for other diseases such as cold, flu, or even tuberculosis.
Humira Manufacturer Plans to Appeal
According to a statement from spokesperson Adelle Infante, the drug manufacturer will appeal the decision against Humira.
“Humira has more than 15 years of clinical and safety data, with therapeutic risks well documented in the prescribing label,” the statement said. “We will appeal this verdict based in part on the jury’s assessment that the medical community was sufficiently warned about the risk of histoplasmosis.”
The Strom Law Firm Represents Personal Injury Cases Against Dangerous Drugs Like Humira
Strom Law Firm, L.L.C. is a leader in the consumer protection battle against dangerous prescription drugs and medical devices, like Humira. We represent individuals who have been killed or injured by dangerous or defective pharmaceuticals. If you or a family member have been injured or killed after using a dangerous drugs or medical products such as Humira, contact our dangerous drug lawyers as soon as possible so that we can begin taking steps to preserve evidence and your claim immediately. We offer free consultations to discuss the facts of your case. 803.252.4800
