A defective drug lawsuit has been filed against the makers of the contrast agent Optimark (used in magnetic resonance imaging tests) after a man developed a skin condition he claims was directly caused by the drug.
The suit comes shortly after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced their investigation into the potential link between nephrogenic systemic fibrosis—a rare condition characterized by hard skin and inflexible joints—and MRI drugs, when administered to patients with kidney problems.
Case Details
John Walker, 71, was admitted to a hospital in 2006 for the treatment of Wegener’s disease, which results in kidney inflammation. During the course of treatment, doctors detected a mass in his heart and ordered an MRI test.
Prior to the MRI scan, the contrast agent Optimark was injected into Walker. Optimark and similar drugs help doctors distinguish between blood vessels and other tissues seen in the images.
Typically, the drug goes through the kidney and out of the body. However, in some patients with kidney ailments, the drug will reach the tissue triggering scar tissue production. This causes nephrogenic systemic fibrosis, which sometimes leads to severe internal organ scarring, according to the FDA.
Several days after Walker was injected with Optimark, he began experiencing stiffness and swelling in his arms, hands, legs, and joints. He was unable to leave his bed for six weeks, and after months of intense physical therapy, he was able to use a wheelchair and then a walker.
“It [nephrogenic systemic fibrosis] affects his daily living,” said his attorney Peter Brodhead. “He doesn’t know if this will ever be cured.”
The lawsuit, filed against Mallinckrodt, the makers of Optimark, seeks economical and non-economical damages for pain and suffering, medical bills, and more.
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