A Benicar side effects lawsuit was filed by a Louisiana woman who alleges the blood pressure drug triggered the same symptoms as celiac disease.

Plaintiff Bernadette Bujol-Brown alleges that several years into her treatment with Benicar she began to experience gastrointestinal symptoms closely mimicking irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). These symptoms led to several rounds of exploratory surgery, which discovered that Brown was experiencing internal bleeding in her gastrointestinal tract. Her Benicar side effects lawsuit alleges that the drug was the cause.

To support this allegation, the Benicar lawsuit cites the July 2013 announcement by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) that Benicar could cause “symptoms of sprue-like enteropathy,” a phrase meaning IBS-like symptoms. The FDA’s statement advised that symptoms might not appear until years of taking Benicar. The FDA also advised that if a patient develops Benicar diarrhea, or sprue-like symptoms, and changes in diet do not improve the situation, Benicar should be discontinued, under a physician’s guidance. Brown’s physician mailed her information from the FDA release in 2013, and this was the first that she heard that Benicar could have been the cause of her symptoms. Once Brown stopped using Benicar, her symptoms allegedly abated completely.

Brown’s Benicar IBS lawsuit alleges that the makers of the drug failed to live up to their duty to thoroughly test the drug for safety and efficacy, and to warn the public of potentially dangerous Benicar side effects. Her Benicar lawsuit further alleges that drug makers were aware — or reasonably should have been aware — of the serious risk of complications associated with these drugs, and actively downplayed these risks, causing patients like Brown to suffer from painful, debilitating side effects that closely resemble another disease.

Her Benicar lawsuit alleges that if Brown was aware that the medication could have been the cause of her symptoms, her physicians may have more quickly discovered the cause of her illness, saving her years of pain, and several exploratory surgeries. Instead, Brown’s Benicar side effects lawsuit alleges, her physicians engaged in a fruitless hunt for the cause of her painful and debilitating symptoms for several years.

Brown’s Benicar lawsuit seeks to recoup the cost of medical care, legal fees, and other costs related to her care. This includes lost wages and damaged income potential.

The Benicar Side Effects Lawsuit is Bernadette Bujol-Brown v. Daiichi Sankyo Inc., et al., Case No. 2:14-cv-01762, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.