The Heineman, Fen Phen, PPH, PAH & Wyeth case documents what many victims who took the diet drug and weight loss pill FEN PHEN (redux) may face today– potential primary pulmonary hypertension (pph) or primary arterial hypertension (pah). The court denied the motion for summary judgment.
To find out more on the case, see Case No. 13-cv-02070-MSK-CBS – September 8, 2014.
A brief summary of case includes:
- In 1996, Plaintiff Jennifer Heineman, then 24 years old, prevailed upon her physician parents, Dr. Joan Scott (“Dr. Joan”) and Dr. John Scott (“Dr. John”), to issue her a prescription for the drug Pondimin, a brand-name variant of the weight-loss drug fenfluramine manufactured by Wyeth.
- Dr. John apparently signed one or more blank prescription forms, and Dr. Joan apparently filled in the relevant information, allowing Ms. Heineman to obtain the drug. Ms. Heineman took Pondimin from approximately March 1996 to May 1997.
- In November 2010, Ms. Heineman was diagnosed was pulmonary arterial hypertension (“PAH,” sometimes also known as “primary pulmonary hypertension”), a progressive and potentially fatal lung disease. Mr. Heineman attributes her contracting of PAH to having taken Pondimin.
- In or about April 2012, Ms. Heineman commenced this action in the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas (site of ongoing mass-plaintiff litigation against manufacturers and distributors of fenfluramine products, known as the In re: Phen-Fen litigation)
Fen Phen may be linked to Primary Pulmonary Hypertension (PPH) or Primary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) or Idiopathic Primary Arterial Hypertension (IPAH) (hereinafter “PPH”, “IPAH” or “PAH”) is an increase in blood pressure in the lung vasculature which comprises the pulmonary artery, pulmonary vein or pulmonary capillaries. It is a rare lung disorder in which the blood pressure in the pulmonary artery rises far above normal levels for no apparent reason. PPH or PAH can be one of five different types:
- arterial
- venous
- hypoxic
- thromboembolic
In addition, fen phen has been linked to heart valve damage too. Unfortunately, an estimated 500 to 1,000 new cases of Primary Pulmonary Hypertension (PPH) or Primary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) are diagnosed each year, and many doctors and experts believe that Primary Pulmonary Hypertension (PPH) or Primary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) is linked to the diet drug Fen-Phen.
And, the diagnosis of these problems is happening many years (10, 15 plus years) after the drug Fen Phen was stopped and pulled off the market.
For more information on FEN PHEN, click here.
At the Gooch Law Firm, we pride ourselves on providing our clients reliable representation for even the most challenging cases. If you took Fen-Phen and have been diagnosed with one of the above problems, please contact our office at 1.844.329.5955.
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