A former wall street banker is claiming that he lost $3 million from compulsive gambling caused by the drug Mirapex and is suing 3 drug companies as a result.
The lawsuit was filed in New York State Court on Tuesday by Randoph Simens and is accusing Boehringer Ingelheim, Pfizer and Pharmacia and Upjohn of breach of warranty, negligence and negligent misrepresentation.
Simens says that he started to take the drug after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and suffering from hand tremors. Shortly thereafter, he became reckless with his gambling habits and began to spend more and more time in casinos.
“It put a little tickle in me and then snowballed within a month,” Simens said.
Mirapex is sold in the United States and is prescribed for restless leg syndrome and Parkinson’s disease. The drug maker Pfizer made a public statement recently that it had not marketed Mirapex since 2005, when medical studies first found a link between the drug and compulsive behaviors. The drug company said that it “acted reasonably and appropriately during the entire time period it was involved with Mirapex.”
While the FDA attempts to keep the public informed of the possible side effects of medications, it is impossible for everyone to be 100% aware of the dangers at all times. These sorts of problems only highlight the need for better warnings on drug labels.
