Over 500 people who have been injured from gadolinium dye used in MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging) have filed a product liability lawsuit against several drug companies for failing to warn them about the dyes' links to NSF/NFD (Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis / Nephrogenic Dermopathy) – a hardening of the skin that affects those with kidney disease.

Product liability lawsuit details

According to a news report from Providence, Rhode Island's news channel WPRI, approximately 516 have joined a product liability lawsuit against several pharmaceutical companies that manufacturer gadolinium dye. The dye, which is used in MRIs and MRAs (magnetic resonance angiography) tests, has been linked to NSF/NFD in people with kidney disease and the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has issued warnings about possible injuries. However, product liability attorneys say that the drug companies (see below) who manufacture these dyes have failed to warn consumers.

Gadolinium manufacturers & symptoms

Gadolinium manufacturers include Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Bracco Diagnostics, GE Healthcare and Mallinckrodt and the products involved are OmniScan (gadodiamide), OptiMark (gadoversetamide), Prohance (gadoteridol), Magnevist (gadopentate dimeglumine) and MultiHance (gadobenate dimeglumine).

Symptoms associated with NSF/NFD include burning of the skin; hardening or tightening of the skin; itching; muscle weakness; pain deep in the hip bones or ribs, red or dark patches on the skin; stiffness in joints and trouble moving or straightening the arms, hands, legs, or feet; swelling and yellow spots on the whites of the eyes. The disease can cause serious injuries or death – something one Rhode Island woman featured in the report knows all too well.

Rhode Island woman has finger amputated

A Rhode Island woman joined the lawsuit after undergoing an MRI in 2006. She later developed NSF/NFD which became so bad that doctors had to amputate one of her fingers. Her attorney says that she, like the others in the lawsuit, was never warned about the possibility of developing such a terrible disease from what so many people consider to be a routine procedure. He said that he intends to “... uncover exactly what the manufacturers knew and when... and find out how much information did they have and what did they do with it."