Ambien Class-Action Lawsuit Information
Find class-action
lawsuit information against Sanofi-Aventis, the maker of
the sleep drug Ambien (trade name for zolpidem) here. One hundred people are already represented in one suit alone.
Many law enforcement officials believe there to be a link
between Ambien use and sleepdriving automobile accidents. Plaintiff's attorneys are working on class-action lawsuits
on behalf of victims of Ambien-induced sleepwalking, sleepdriving, sleep-eating and othe parasomnias.
Here is some information about sleep-driving, which has been associated in print with usage of Ambien.
This information is from the New York Times:
With a tendency to stare zombie-like and run into stationary objects, a new species of impaired motorist is hitting the roads: the Ambien driver.
Ambien, the nation's best-selling prescription sleeping pill, is showing up with regularity as a factor in traffic arrests, sometimes involving drivers who later say they were sleep-driving and have no memory of taking the wheel after taking the drug.
In some state toxicology laboratories Ambien makes the top 10 list of drugs found in impaired drivers. Wisconsin officials identified Ambien in the bloodstreams of 187 arrested drivers from 1999 to 2004.
And as a more people are taking the drug (26.5 million prescriptions in this country last year) there are signs that Ambien-related driving arrests are on the rise. In Washington State, for example, officials counted 78 impaired-driving arrests in which Ambien was a factor last year, up from 56 in 2004.
Ambien's maker, Sanofi-Aventis, says the drug's record after 13 years of use in this country shows it is safe when taken as directed. But a spokeswoman, Melissa Feltmann, wrote in an e-mail message, "We are aware of reports of people driving while sleepwalking, and those reports have been provided to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as part of our ongoing postmarketing evaluation about the safety of our products."
A spokeswoman for the F.D.A. said the drug's current label warnings, which say it should not be used with alcohol and in some cases could cause sleepwalking or hallucinations, were adequate. "People should be aware of that," said the spokeswoman, Susan Cruzan.
While alcohol and other drugs are sometimes also involved in the Ambien traffic cases, the drivers tend to stand out from other under-the-influence motorists. The behavior can include driving in the wrong direction or slamming into light poles or parked vehicles, as well as seeming oblivious to the arresting officers, according to a presentation last month at a meeting of forensic scientists.
Class-Action News
Class Action Lawsuit Filed
New York attorney Susan Lask filed a class-action lawsuit against Sanofi-Aventis, the maker of Ambien. The plaintiffs include one woman who was sexually assaulted after opening the door to an attacker in her sleep.Sleep-Eating and Sleep-Anaesthesia
The Independent ran an article about "Ambien zombies" who get up at night and eat large quantities of food, while in Ambien-induced parasomnia. One woman gained 100 pounds. Another, recovering from back surgery, was able to get up and walk around in her sleep but not able when awake.Press Release
New York, NY (PRWEB) March 10, 2006 -- The New York Times recently reported that last year some 26.5 million prescriptions of Ambien were filled and the manufacturer made some $2.2 billion in sales for a drug they advertise that will put you asleep, BUT some Ambien users nationwide experience bizarre side effects of sleep walking, sleep eating and memory loss that landed them in Jail, they lost their jobs or they were seriously injured, without any memory of what happened to them. Scientific research confirms that Ambien is a powerful hypnotic that can reel people into sleep walking and sleep eating instead of a good nights sleep. New York City Attorney Susan Chana Lask filed a class action complaint in the Southern District of New York on March 6, 2006, Case No. 06CIV1762....
Class Action Complaint filed March 6, 20006
"In this case, we [SCL] are representing anyone nationwide who has experienced the side effects of either or both sleep walking, sleep eating and memory loss. You will not have to pay legal fees or expenses in this case. You can be located anywhere in the United States to join. You can be represented in this case by filling out two simple forms and mailing both of them to SCL. The benefit of the Class Action is that it is a group effort and will not cost you anything, as well as our Class Representatives and the numerous others in our group not named in the Complaint are very determined, knowledgeable and strong. As well, the research and work has been completed by SCL and our office has our experts and documents supporting the case in place; all leading to the filing of the action by our office."Reports Raise Questions About Sleeping Pill Side Effect. Is Ambien Sleepwalking Understated?
Washington Post | March 14, 2006: The most prescribed sleep medication in the United States may be linked to episodes of sleepwalking and related strange and dangerous behaviors, experts say -- including incidents of nocturnal eating, phone conversations, shoplifting and even driving -- of which the subject has no memory.Reports made to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by doctors and patients show more sleepwalking incidents associated with Ambien than with all other sleep aids combined....
Manufacturer Responds to Complaints (3-23-2006)
French pharmaceutical group Sanofi-Aventis defended the safety of Ambien, the top selling sleeping pill in the world, which faces a class action lawsuit that says it causes sleepwalking and eating disorders.Sanofi-Aventis said in a statement it has put the drug under a battery of clinical tests and reviewed all the data from 70,000 users who say there is nothing wrong with the dosage instructions and warning label it carries.
Four Ambien users in March filed a lawsuit against Sanofi-Aventis in a federal court in New York, claiming the sleeping pill drove them to eat excessively or drive while sleepwalking, leaving them with no memory of their actions.
They called on everybody who had similar experiences to join them in a class action suit.
Ambien, which sells under the name of Stilnox in France, does specify in its warning label that one of its rare side effects is somnambulism and increased appetite, the company said in its statement.
Plaintiffs Increase in Number
Milton Shobe said his mother, Doris, 62, was taking Ambien. She was found dead in her yard in November. She froze to death, and her family believes she had been sleepwalking. Janet Makinen took Ambien for six years and never understood why she was sleepwalking and eating bizarre things like raw eggs, uncooked yellow rice, and loaves of bread while she slept.There are about 100 people involved in a class-action lawsuit filed on March 6, 2006 against Sanofi-Aventis, the company that makes Ambien.
Congressman Kennedy In Auto Accident After Taking Ambien
Congressman Patrick Kennedy had a widely-publicized automobile accident at the U.S. Capitol Complex in Washington, D.C. on May 4, 2006. He said he had taken Ambien and an anti-nausea drug, and had no recollection of the accident. This closely matches the symptom set attributed to sleepdriving after taking Ambien, and the similarity of symptoms was noted in numerous newspaper articles on May 6 (Boston Globe, New York Daily News, Los Angeles Times, Houston Chronicle, Washington Post, Reuters and numerous others). In addition, visitors to this website spiked on May 5 and 6.Ambien Class Action Filed in NY Federal Court
...the class representatives range from a housewife in Florida, a Texas woman studying for her CPA, a Lab Technician in New York and a Lieutenant in the US Navy. The Florida housewife ate everything in sight, including raw eggs, uncooked canned vegetables and loaves of bread in one evening, and she did this multiple times. Her husband would find her in the morning with her mouth gorged with food and shovel it out of her mouth. The woman from Texas took Ambien one night and woke up on a cement jail floor the next day only to discover she was arrested for driving her car in a zombie like state and crashing into other parked vehicles. She now faces criminal charges. The Lieutenant had a stellar record with the Navy and a high classified position when she took her Ambien and was arrested the next day for shoplifting DVD's from a store. She also drove while on her "shopping spree". She has no memory of the incident and now faces court martial and the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars in pension and other work related compensation for DVD's worth some $20--something that makes absolutely no sense. The New York Lab Technician was actually assaulted twice when she took her Ambien and entered into a hypnotic state where she opened her door for a stranger and another time she was found in her car in a hypnotic state. Her life has been devastated from the assault where she has horrific fragmented memories of it.New Drug Makers' Labeling Could Limit Product Liability
June 30, 2006 | Beginning June 30, drug manufacturers will be required by the Food and Drug Administration to provide more concise and better organized patient information package insert sheets. Any drug approved within the last five years will have new requirements implemented gradually over the next seven years.New evidence related to the drugs will be updated and available online free of cost to healthcare professionals and consumers at http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov.
Dr. Dominick Trombetta, assistant professor of pharmacy practice at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., believes this is a positive step in improving medication use, but has concerns about the current label changes that will make it more difficult to sue drug manufacturers over product liability. "FDA's response to drug manufacturer's concerns over increased liability was to include wording that would exempt them from state product liability," a decision that Trombetta anticipates will be challenged in court.
Though Dr. Trombetta believes the FDA's new rules are a positive step in improving medication use if fully utilized, he calls the limitations on product liability "extremely disturbing."
Sleeping Pill Blamed in Road Woes
Boston Herald Newspaper, July 9, 2006 | Ambien, the nation’s most prescribed sleeping agent, has repeatedly made national headlines  not for giving people a good night’s sleep, but for midnight food binges, dangerous joyrides, and even an in-flight outburst.U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-Rhode Island) claimed he took Ambien and the antinausea Medication Phenergan before his May 4 Capitol Hill car crash...
In another case, last July, according to his lawyer, a British painting contractor named Sean Joyce went “berserk†after he took Ambien...“He turned into the Incredible Hulk. He ripped off his shirt and started fighting everyone on the plane."...
In a class-action lawsuit filed in federal court against Ambien manufacturer Sanofi-Aventis, plaintiff Christina Brothers of Cedar Park, Texas, claimed that on her third day taking Ambien she got out of bed at 6 a.m., left her house and drove her mother’s car into a parked vehicle and then into another car....
Sanofi-Aventis Unleashes Defensive Ads
Media Buyer Planner | The news that Ambien users could suffer from binge eating while sleeping and falling asleep while driving resulted in sinking sales for sleeping medication. Sanofi-Aventis responded two weeks later with its advertising campaign showcasing Ambien's safety, as rival medications geared up to advertise as well, writes Ad Age.
FDA Orders Stronger Warning Labels for Ambien
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration ordered on March 14, 2007, that sleep drugs like Ambien carry warnings of sleep walking, sleepdriving and other behaviors. But some say that a labeling change will likely have little effect on the use of these drugs, which accounted for more than 45 million prescriptions in the United States in 2005.Conclusion
Check this site for latest information on class-action lawsuits filed on behalf of victims of Ambien-induced sleep-driving.