Pfizer Sued After Dog Dies From Rimadyl Toxicity
26 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // August 25th, 2011 // 9:10 am
A controversy over a painkiller for dogs may be bubbling up again. A Colorado couple have filed a lawsuit against Pfizer for allegedly failing to adequately warn that its Rimadyl med, which is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, can cause severe harm. The issue mirrors the substance of a class-action lawsuit brought in 1999 by hundreds of pet owners, but that Pfizer subsequently settled in 2004.
Now, though, the publicity over this new lawsuit might prompt a new round of litigation, given that Rimadyl has been known for years to consistently generate a large number of adverse events (see this). These include a reaction that Pfizer vets call Rimadyl toxicity, which is mentioned in the prescribing information, although death is listed as a rare event (which you can find here).
The lawsuit was filed by Christopher Cooper and Shelley Smith whose golden retriever, named Sophie, was given Rimadyl following surgery in June 2009 for a cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) rupture. Eleven days later, the dog began experiencing symptoms, such as vomiting and a lack of appetite. Their vets contacted Pfizer, whose own vets confirmed the reaction appeared to be Rimadyl toxicity and they suggested hospitalization.
The dog was subsequently hospitalized for nearly two weeks and tests showed severe liver degradation. By the end of July 2009, Sophie was dead. By then, the couple racked up approximately $30,000 in expenses and, after being alerted, Pfizer sent a check for $1,000, matching the average amount offered to pet owners who participated in the earlier class action lawsuit (read this). However, they rejected the payment, according to their attorney.
“Many dogs do well on the drug, but you don’t know how yours will react until it dies. Pfizer actually needs to do more testing to determine how this drug affects different breeds differently,” says Jennifer Edwards, an attorney with the Animal Law Center, which specializes in litigation on behalf of pet owners. “It’s an inherently dangerous drug for many dogs and it’s not really clear which ones can be affected. We need more research.” She maintains that hundreds, if not thousands of dog owners are encountering the same problem (here is the lawsuit).
We have asked Pfizer for a comment and will update you accordingly. UPDATE: A Pfizer spokesman writes us this: “While Pfizer cannot comment on pending litigation, it’s important to note that Rimadyl, which was launched in 1997, has been approved as a safe and effective treatment for pain in dogs. It is the No. 1 recommended pain reliever by veterinarians and has been used in more than 16 million dogs.”
xtian
So we are now suing pharma companies for damage to property? And before someone calls me mean spirited and/or an animal hater, I did not determine how animals are treated under the legal system. For example, in divorce cases in PA, a dog is treated as property, just like a car or house. Can I sue Pfizer for damage to my car after I poured Viagra in the gas tank. The car needed more pep!!
Couple could have saved themselves $29,999 and taken the dog behind the wood shed and put it out of its misery. Now you can call me an animal hater….
Joyce
I wouldn’t call you an animal hater. Many people feel that their cats and dogs are like family - not possessions. Do you consider your wife or children possessions?
Whether you are using a product for your human family, your furry family, your car or your lawn don’t you want a product you can trust? One that isn’t being manufactured mostly because it is a good money maker?
I wouldn’t call you an animal hater - just a bit of a numbskull..
company insider
It sounds like one dose did it. I wonder how high the dose was. A number of the other nsaids are suppose to be very doxic to animals.
xtian
Joyce,
My dog is part of my family. And I would be extremely upset if anything happened to my dog becuase of faulty medicine. However, I think people should realize that their remedy in these circumstances is limited to how the law treats animals . . . as property. This is a hard realization to make becuase, as your post clearly indicates, people are emotionally attached to their animals, which lead some people to confuse property with family.
Property is defined by the law and the law says dogs are property; no matter how emotionally attached you are to it. (And it is such a shame too, becuase I was very emotionally attached to my first car.)
So that you don’t think I am making this up, PA courts have refused to vaule a pet as more than property - any remedy one make seek for loss of the pet is the traditional notion of market value for the loss of the property. Factors courts have included in determining the market value of a pet are the breed, pedigree, age, etc.
Again not from the emotional perspective, but from the legal perspective, PA courts have refused the causes of action that result in the high dollar amounts such as actions for intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress claims based on pet injury/death. See Daughen v. Fox, 372 Pa.Super. 405, 539 A.2d 858 (1988).
Bottom line, it is horrible what happened to this family’s pet. Thus, seeking legal action is well within their rights to do so. However, we need to temper any expectation on the amount of the remedy. Although we make think our pets are family, they are simply property in the eyes of the court.
Edward Murray
You gotta love the FDA. They do such a good job of protecting manufacturers from the public.
The whole veterinary adverse event reporting system is a great case in point.
First, Death and Euthanasia are the 7th and 10th most commonly reported adverse events associated with Carprofen (Rimadyl and now some generics of it). In FDA-speak, that is “RARE.” The agency never answered the question of how the 7th and 10th most commonly reported adverse events could be termed rare. Why should they answer the public? Their job is protecting manufacturers.
But there’s more. Lots more.
The public data is based on the “unscored” (unevaluated) reports. Why? So manufacturers can say that just because something was reported, doesn’t mean that it is. My understanding is that the unscored and scored data are in the same database so there is no reason, other than protecting manufacturers, for not reporting the useful data.
And how hard would it really be to give the total number of reports. I can see that Death and Euthanasia total 3,567 reports which together would make it the 6th most commonly reported adverse event, but out of how many total? (They use to provide the data, but around the time they exiled the Dr. Victoria Hampshire who managed this reporting, they also stopped reporting the total number of cases. Guess that was a bonus gift to Wyeth when they pulled her off their drug and got the FDA to initiated a criminal investigation of her.
If the agency ever worried about consumers, human and furry, they might have taken some action on the known (their own study) fact that owners are not given vital safety information about the drug which is required of all the NSAIDs. Vets don’t like to discuss possible adverse events so those FDA-mandated, manufacturer-provided Client Information Sheets (veterinary equivalent of Medication Guides) never seem to make it to caregivers. They are an official part of the product label that is being ripped off an thrown away (or never provided in bulk sales)so in effect, the drug sold without this basic safety information is unsafe. And Pfizer knows full well that these sheets are not going to owners and has done nothing to change that. Nor has the FDA which also is fully aware and has studied this situation.
Joyce
Hi, and thanks for taking the time to elaborate your position. I was glad to read it.
I am emotional certainly. I also think that anything that we can do to make companies accountable for the products they produce and sell us is a good thing.
The lack of ethics in manufacturing is what gets me - not only pharmaceuticals. As I am sure you know, I could go on and on.
If the oil that you put in your car (property) damaged your engine I sure that you want the company to act responsibly - it could cost you a lot of $ to get a new engine.
One of our dogs (she died in 2006) was on Rimadyl off and on for a year due to arthritis. The vet told us it was fine. There was nothing dramatic that happened - except that one day she refused to eat - it went on and on. She lived for 6 more months on prednisone. We didn’t even think that it might have had to do with Rimadyl. Now I am not so sure.
I am getting off track but my main point is accountability and trust in the products we use.
Xtian
Can you elaborate on your statement about “lack of ethics in manufacturing”? According to this article, the drug was not improperly or not safetly made, it’s that it may, in some cases, cause an adverse event, i.e. Death.
To your second comment, paraphrasing: products we can trust. These are two distinct issues as I see it.
I expect all pharma companies, branded and generic, to maintain the highest standard of manufacturing standards. The first pill out of the factory should be the same as the last pill, in strength, excipients, purity etc. To me, this is manufacturing ethics.
Regarding poducts/drugs we can trust, all drugs are dangerous A drug may be inherently dangerous in that the side effects may be equal to, and not outweigh, the drugs benefits. The doctor and patient needs to discuss whether such a drug is appropriate for the patient. What is concerning, like in this case, is the assumption that the risks of the drug are small compared to the benefits such that the drug is prescribed without the risk benefit analysis. This to me encompasses “produce that I trust.”
original industry insider
I’m a dog lover, but unfortunately dogs have much shorter life spans than us. It used to be that the life span for a large breed dog was 7-9 years, and when a dog developed hip dysplasia or other severe forms of arthritis it’s days were numbered. With some of the newer meds we are extending canine longevity, but we have to ask the hard question: are we improving their quality of life or do we wish to keep these companion animals around a few more years in order to postpone that day of reckoning when we bring them to the vet for the last time and return home without them.
Big TRx producer
Sometimes, when at Kroger I have to face the choice of prescriptions for my dogs or Kibbles-n-Bits! Can you imagine the horror?
There shall be no peace until universal drug coverage is passed for animals.
NO JUSTICE NO PEACE!
this is a birth right, right?
harpy
“Can I sue Pfizer for damage to my car after I poured Viagra in the gas tank.”
um, no, because that would be stupid and an off-label use. Viagra has not been proven to be safe and effective in cars.
but if you put Viagra in my gas tank, I could certainly sue you for damaging my property. because when someone damages your property, you can sue them.
original industry insider
Big TRx if you’re that concerned go out and buy an inexpensive pet insurance policy. It’s not all that expensive and your dog’s meds will likely be covered.
BTW don’t buy the dog food they sell in the supermarket. Most of it is replete with non-nutritions fillers. I favor the Nutro line of dog food. It’s bit harder to find and a bit more expensive, but much more nutritious. Finally it should go without saying that you should never buy canned dog food unless it’s an emergency. The stuff gets in between their teeth and is the most common cause of tooth decay and tooth loss in dogs.
Big TRx producer
I avoid Nutro because of their profitability. They have some of the highest marketing and selling expenses in the industry, their ratio of selling expenses to R&D is high and they field an army of reps to promote their products to vets. As you know, vets, due to their simple minds, are unable to make decisions themselves and they recommend Nutro when I take Bruiser in for his well visits. I even noticed our Vet was using a Nutro Ultra pen when he wrote Bruiser’s orders. He even gave us a sample.
Imagine the horror when I realized that both the vet and I had been influenced by evil profiteers.
I prefer generics made in the outer provinces of China. Canned, so be it so long as it is foreign made, cheap and the profits flow ex-US.
Fight the Power!
John
Interesting point of view. Though I’d be curious to get an accurate list of all the ingredients that have shown up in generic dog food from the outer provinces of China in recent years.
Political Prisoner with Green Peas Feast?
original industry insider
Big TRX, I first heard about Nutro when I obtained a puppy from a breeder who regularly produced champions that were shown at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. They and Pedigree may have the highest overhead and command the highest prices, but that’s simply because they are the two best dog foods on the market. Otherwise champion dog breeders, owners and handlers would find something better as they are a competitive bunch. But I suppose they along with the vets are sellouts to industry as well.
So go on, be my guest, keep feeding your dog Alpo, but make sure you know the name of a good canine dentist.
BrokenHearted
I stand behind these people and there lawsuit. I also lost my gorgeous 5 year old dog due to Rimadyl. She was given it after a surgery and as the days past she became very ill and confused. She was vomiting all the time and backing herself into walls and getting stuck. My dog was perfectly fine before surgery, this med kills pets. I was never warned by my Vet about the side effects and only learned about them after my dog was in the ER. I sued my Vet and the judge did not side with either party. I am currently in debt because of this. If I had know what I was giving my dog I would have told the Vet NO give me another option. Would you take something that one of the side effects listed is death? I know I sure wouldn’t. To all the pet owners out there please learn what I had to learn the hard way. Know what you are giving your pet, demand your Vet give you a side effect sheet, and if you refuse to give your pet a med and the doc won’t give you another option go somewhere else. I suffered for a very long time due to guilt because my dog died alone in a animal hospital. I wasn’t there to say goodbye and that dog was always by my side. I miss her everyday. RIP Peaches. Good luck to this couple, do not give up the good fight. I was going to go after Phizer myself but due to depression and anxiety could not go through with it. You have my support and I know there are many others out there who have been through what we have.
XthisSucka
Xtian is clearly a loud-mouthed, blow-hard know-it-all that has no outlet for his half-baked ideas about how the world should work. Like most self-styled intellectuals, he is partly right and he proves that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Our legal system does indeed recognize pets as property and if someone injures or kills your pet through negligence, you are only entitled to sue for damages equal to the value of the pet and any additional expenses that were incurred as a direct result of said negligence (medical bills, etc.)
HOWEVER, under tort law, punitive damages like pain & suffering or loss of consortium do not follow bright line legal rules. That is to say, you CAN sue for these types of damages in civil court although the right judge is required to push that case into open court.
Many states recognize pets along the lines of family heirlooms; not family members per se but rather property with significant intrinsic value.
grannieannie
There was a headline in the WSJ that said ” Rimadyl is great for dogs that survive”
As for canned food causing tooth decay in dogs? You are mistaken. Its the plaque that sticks to dogs teeth that causes tooth decay.
Feed raw human grade food. Its cheaper and you know exactly what you are feeding. Several of my large breed dogs lived to 19. I just lost one early, he was 12 and had a heart condition that was diagnosed at age 4. Do your own diligence and don’t believe everything the vet tells you. Your animals life and health depends on you, his health care advocate.
GA
grannieannie
Plaque if formed by the Kibble or as some call it ” death in a bag ” That is the cause of tooth decay. Regardless what you feed READ THE LABEL!
Do some searching and see where these ingredients come from and what they are. Can you pronounce the names? If not maybe it better stay in the store. Hopefully you read the labels on your own food so do the same for your pets.
GA
doxiegirl
I hesitate at commenting here, only because.. don’t get me started on my view of pharamceutical co’s in the first place.. I think all the billions of dollars spent pushing lobbyists into DC and wasted on tv ads, billboards, etc - not to mention the perks offered to doctors to push their meds (weekends in Hawaii, etc)… wasted resources I say. I think we could solve 1/3 of the national debt in under 5 yrs if all the big pharmas coughed that cash into a pot for Uncle Sam instead… but I digress.
I am an extreme dog lover. Yes, my dogs are my fur kids, my family. True, Xtian, they are ‘property’ in the eyes of the law. However. Pfizer has known about the adverse affects of Rimadyl for many years, even been sued & settled, yet continues to manufacture the drug apparently without having missed a beat, no change in anything, no additional testing, no pulling the drug off the market til it’s REALLY safe. Would we accept this for HUMAN medications??
4 yrs ago my then 12 yr old dachshund was put on Rimadyl. I’d never heard of this drug until then. The vet gave me NO warning of possible side affects. Based on what i’ve been reading, Pfizer had already settled their suit for this drug by the time i was given this med for my dog.
After 3 days on Rimadyl his health began deteriorating (clumsiness, lethargy, vomiting, lack of appetite/refusing water). I ran to the internet and found that all the Rimadyl side affects were happening to my dog. Stopped the med immediately and back to the vet, who vehemently denied that the Rimadyl was the cause, that all the ‘hoopla’ over this drug was media hype from the extreme exceptions and not the general rule of this medication’s effectiveness.
I was one of the lucky ones; I stopped the meds just in time, dumped the vet and found an herbalist who detoxed his liver, which was already damaged though not yet irreversibly, and he did fully recover to live another 3 yrs. Many others have not been so fortunate, with either permanent damage done and poor quality of life that requires expensive medical care, or, immediate death. If they were also being coached by a vet who backed the drug, and the vet is protecting the drug makers for a reason, then why shouldnt this be brought to litagation?? FALSE ADVERTISING and unfair consumer practices! Even if it is property damage.. let’s look at Toyota. The brakes in their cars were faulty a while back, caused several accidents. They got the point, stopped production, recalled the cars, paid the bills. It’s what you’d expect for being marketed a product DEEMED safe that turns out not to be, especially from such a big-name producer. I actually commend Toyota for their immediate reaction to remedy their situation. It would be refreshing for drug cos to do the same.
Just because it’s been FDA approved does not always mean it is safe; recalls happen all the time. All drugs are poison; the trick is to find the right poison that is more beneficial than harmful in the long run. I do not know what the ‘acceptable fatality’ rate is for the FDA to approve a drug to market, but I’m thinking that number *should* be pretty gosh darn low. I think it’s alot of money mongers trying to cash in on profits from the next miracle drug du-jour with insufficient testing to support public marketing.
So maybe it isn’t Pfizer, maybe it’s the FDA that needs a whack on the wrist; or maybe it’s lack of regulations in the drug manufacturing industry that allow the drug companies to throw kickbacks and perks to docs who push their meds to (uneducated) consumers (I also work in the real estate industry.. RESPA prohibits these types of kickbacks for exactly this reason: BIAS and unfair consumerism).. or maybe it’s the consumer’s fault for buying into the shiney happy commercials on TV where everyone is floating along with pearly white smiles in slow motion while 600 lines of 6pt font scroll across the bottom of the screen to warn of those ‘extreme exceptions’…
Joe Camel was banned from advertisements for cigarettes. There is a slippery slope of targeted deceptive advertising practices, and as much as i believe in freedom of speech and freedom of press, there has to be some guidelines set for things that can be so potentially dangerous.
I think ALL pharmas need to be 99% certain their drug is safe and/or know exactly what side affects are most likely; ie, spend all that advertising (and fancy packaging, and propaganda like pens and sticky pads and calendars etc etc) money on TESTING and RESEARCH.. I AM NOT A DOCTOR, you don’t need to sell me on 7 kinds of bladder control or penile dysfunction meds before lunch.. do the tests, do them again, teach the DOCTORS what it does and does not do, let them educate the patients, that is supposed to be their job!
keezy
My dogs are my property!!!
I love them dearly and have an ethic responsibility to care for them physically and emotionally but they are property.
There being property however does not excuse the drug companies action or deduce there liability.
If the guy that fixes my lawnmower were to recommend that I fuel it with kool-aid instead of gasoline and engine failure could be attributed to that action, and I could demonstrate his recommendation, then he would be liable and open to suite. In this case the history of previous reports and incidences increase Pfizer’s liability.
Sammy
First, my dogs are family to me. I have had 8 dogs over the past years and spent $3,000 or so on a couple of them. If I had a dog that was clearly terminal, I would never spend $30,000 that is ridiculous. You have to be realistic and think about the dogs pain and quality of life. I can only imagine that by keeping the dog alive for so long, they were causing her great distress and pain. And, animals are treated as property in the eyes of the law and they will never get $30,000 for damage caused by an FDA approved drug. They are just wasting more money on legal costs.
My question is - what is a safe pain reliever for dogs? I have mini dachshunds that have ocassional back pain and I give them a small dose of a Rimadyl generic to help with the swelling. What are the options?
MasAsHell
My 10 year old Aussie nearly died from the Rimadyl that the vet “specialists” said would help her arthritis. She was on a relatively low dose and only on it for two weeks before she got sick. And YES, I followed directions in giving it to her.
Before prescribing ANY med these vets need to disclose the side effects. Like many folks I trusted my vet.
NEVER again.
original industry insider
Sammy, not be be alarmist, but I used to own dachsunds as well. The vet told us that back pain in this breed could be serious because the short legs of the breed put extra pressure on the spine, which could lead to further complications. I would respectfully suggest not medicating your dog on your own, and suggest that you call your vet to discuss the situation.
Porperty Lawsuits
Someone said” So we are now suing pharma companies for damage to property?”
Are there lawsuits over car damage? House damage, etc? Lawsuits over even small property?
YES!!!
There are thousand of lawsuits every single year when property is damaged due to the the negligence of someone or some company.
So…your problem is what?
Porperty Lawsuits
For those talking about the dog being property so there should not be a lawsuit. This logic makes no sense. What if a roofer puts on your roof and it leaks causing damage. Should you not be allowed to sue because the roof is property? A pharma company continues to advertise its #1 drug without properly stating the damage the drug can cause to the dog (or property for your property dog people). This is wrong.
I have dogs, they are more than property to me. I am sure there are men out there that would be insulted in your walked up to their sportscar and spit on it because it was just property.
Value and companionship are individual attributes. Responsibility in making safe products is something pharmas should be accountable for.
Geri
My perfectly healthy 5-year old chocolate lab, Stella, had a tooth pulled 9/30/11. All blood tests were normal and she was given Amoxicillin and Rimadyl twice daily for 7 days. On the 8th day I saw blood in her mouth and thought she had torn open the flap from her dental work. On the 9th day (a Sunday) she started bleeding from her nose and I rushed her to the vet and he took x-rays to see if she had anything causing this and said to come back the next day. The 10th day she came in for more tests and they had a hard time being able to draw her blood and get an I-V in her and her breathing was very stressed and her blood wasn’t clotting. I took her home for the night and she was very restless, breathing heavily, bleeding from the nose, got diarrhea and I finally got her to settle down about 4:30 am. The 11th day at 6:30a.m. she started foaming at the mouth and had a seizure. I rushed her to the vet and they couldn’t even get an I-V in her because her veins were collapsed. Blood was just dripping from where she had work done the day before. About 2:30 pm they said to take her to a specialty veterinary hospital because only a plasma transfusion might save her.They worked all night on her and her blood counts just kept dropping and she was bleeding internally. At 7am on the 12th day after she had taken the Rimadyl, she died. It was a horrible death, each day was worse that the day before. If you are interested in warning others about the possible side effects from Rimadyl, please contact me at jit@hughes.net. Had I known that Rimadyl can cause DEATH, I never would have given her that medication. This was like a horror situation from a SyFy movie. I was so distraught that I said I didn’t want an autopsy but after the shock of my loss wore off and I went online and started reading about other pets dying and bleeding internally, the word has to get out that this drug is not safe for all dogs.