Plaintiffs Allege Heart, Liver Injuries after Using Diabetes Drug

SHREVEPORT, La. - In a joinder suit filed March 19 against SmithKline Beecham Corp., 12 plaintiffs claim that they sustained a number of adverse events, including heart and liver injuries, as a result of using the diabetes drug Avandia. Jackson, et al. v. SmithKline Beecham Corp. No. 04-CV-0703-S (W.D. La.).

The plaintiffs, who used the drug between two months and five years, assert that SmithKline failed to adequately warn about Avandia's side effects. The manufacturer also misrepresented the drug's safety by stating that it was safer than Rezulin, which is in the same class of drugs as Avandia but voluntarily …