In May 2007, an Ohio mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals on behalf of her 24-year-old son who died shortly after receiving an injection of Magnevist, a contrast agent used prior to a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedure.

Beverly Rockwell’s son, Trevor A. Drake, died in August 2004, and she is seeking compensatory and punitive damages from her product liability lawsuit. This is the first lawsuit against Bayer in response to alleged damaging effects of Magnevist.

The lawsuit claims Magnevist caused Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF), a skin and joint disease that can cause death.

Having been on dialysis since age 19, Drake was admitted to the Cleveland Clinic in March 2002 and in August 2004 for renal complications. He received a kidney transplant at age 21, but the transplant failed. Shortly after being admitted to the Clinic the first time, he was given Magnevist prior to an MRI.

Soon after his injection, Drake experienced immobilizing skin hardening and joint stiffening, and was confined to a wheelchair.

In 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a Public Health Advisory that reported 200 cases worldwide of NSF in patients who were exposed to contrast agents like Magnevist.

In May 2007, the FDA placed a “boxed warning” in contrast agents’ product directions about the risk of developing NSF. The warning said the agents increase the risk of developing NSF in patients with renal insufficiency, and that the use of such drugs should be avoided.

The risk of a patient with severe kidney failure to develop NSF after receiving an injection of a contrast agent is about 4 in 100.

The product liability law firm involved in this case also filed a suit in March 2007 on behalf of an elderly man who suffers from NSF. Prior to kidney dialysis, the man was injected with a similar contrast agent, OptiMark. He suffers debilitating joint injuries and requires physical therapy to walk.

Source: “Nowalk, Ohio mother sues Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals for the death of her 24-year-old son,” PharmaLive.com, May 30, 2007.