Patients with mental disorders such as bipolar prone experience mood swings. To stabilize the mood, doctors usually prescribe lithium. Taking lithium as a mood stabilizer is known to cause kidney damage. It is appalling since many have filed a lithium kidney damage lawsuit.
If you or perhaps your dearest is taking lithium to stabilize your mood, you should be cautious about the side effects it causes. This article will blow the whistle on the lawsuits against lithium, so don’t be bound to miss out!
What Is Lithium?
Lithium is a chemical element that is commonly known by the symbol “Li”. Psychiatric doctors often rely on Li to treat patients with bipolar. The reason is, Bipolar sufferers often experience mood swings such as mania and hypomania.
The mood during mania is distracted, highly excited, and too active so bipolar sufferers cannot rest sufficiently. Conversely, hypomania is almost the same as mania but not as severe. Psychiatric doctors don’t only prescribe Li for bipolar sufferers because it can also treat depression and schizophrenia patients.
Lithium Prescribing
Before filing a lithium kidney damage lawsuit, you need to broaden your knowledge about this mood stabilizer chemical element. Li is like a coin with two sides that provide positive and negative impacts. Quoting from the Medical Solicitor page, basically consuming Li will not harm your health as long as it is prescribed correctly.
The natural salt content in Li can improve brain function in depression patients since the salt can stabilize brain cells and produce energy. Bipolar or depressed patients will usually take Li long-term in the range of 10 to 20 years. This prescription is of course prescribed by the doctor who treats them.
Prescribing Li that does not meet standards will have a negative impact on kidney health. Moreover, Li toxicity or overdose can lead to serious health problems. Consequently, patients who overdose on Li will experience symptoms of vomiting, diarrhea, uncontrollable trembling, and confusion.
This can be fatal if you don’t get quick and appropriate medical treatment. Therefore, patients who consume Lithium must have blood tests and organ examinations regularly every 3 months. Cases of decreased kidney function due to Li are rare, but this does not rule out the possibility of this happening.
Li will not harm the kidneys if the levels are within the “therapeutic range” of around 0.5 – 1.1. You need to immediately visit a kidney specialist if the Li level in your blood reaches above 1.
Understanding Lithium Toxicity
Lithium toxicity can be one of the reasons why patients file lithium kidney damage lawsuits since can lead to serious health problems. Lithium toxicity indicates that the patient consumed too much of the Li prescription. Below are some of the reasons underlying Lithium toxicity quoted from the Cleveland Clinic page.
1. Acute Toxicity (Sudden and Severe)
You can experience acute toxicity if you consume large amounts of Li’s prescription at once. Further, Li acute toxicity can also be caused by having little body fluids.
2. Acute-on-Chronic Toxicity
The next cause of Li’s overdose is because of Li’s prescription which you have to take every day but you take a large amount in one day. The body’s lack of water will also make this poisoning worse. Therefore, make sure you consume Li based on the recommendations prescribed by your doctor.
You cannot file a Lithium kidney damage lawsuit against a doctor or hospital if you have kidney failure due to acute-on-chronic toxicity. It could be considered personal negligence since you did not take Li based on the doctor’s recommendations.
3. Chronic (Long-Term) Toxicity
Taking Li every day for a very long period of time can cause a buildup of Li in your body. Accordingly, you will experience chronic (long-term) toxicity making you susceptible to kidney failure. Bear in mind that some other factors cause chronic (long-term) toxicity such as undergoing other medications and dehydration.
When Can I File a Lithium Kidney Damage Lawsuit?
If you experience adverse health due to an inappropriate Lithium prescription, you can work with a lawyer to sue the liable party. Kidney failure due to consuming inappropriate prescription drugs is considered malpractice. Accordingly, you can sue this issue through a personal injury lawyer.
Along with that, you can also file a personal injury lawsuit if you experience some of the following symptoms.
- Rapid decline in kidney function (one year);
- not having regular blood tests;
- the medical personnel treating you did not review the blood test results;
- medical officers do not refer you to a kidney specialist or neurologist.
What Compensation Can I Claim?
If you have gathered valid evidence that the kidney damage or adverse health you are experiencing is due to the effects of consuming Lithium, you can file a lawsuit as soon as possible. The lawyer you appoint will help you provide legal assistance and endeavor so you get the compensation below if you win a personal injury lawsuit.
1. Loss of Earning
If kidney damage due to taking Lithium makes you unable to work, then your legal representative will try to fight for you to get compensation for loss of earnings. Kidney failure sufferers usually often have to go to the hospital for treatment, so they often take leave of work.
2. Medical Expenses
Lithium kidney damage lawsuits also allow you to get medical expense compensation. Since you experience adverse health effects, you obviously will spend a lot of money on treatment. Compensation for medical expenses includes consultations, medicines, maintenance, and long-term medical expenses.
3. Pain and Suffering
Experiencing adverse health effects will certainly make you feel pain and suffering. This pain can have an impact on mental health, such as insomnia or depression. You may claim to get compensation for this kind of suffering.
4. Loss of Enjoyment
Experiencing kidney failure or other adverse health causes you to lose enjoyment. You can’t live your life as comfortably as when you were healthy. Usually, the claim may also consist of this aspect.
Are You Ready to File a Lithium Kidney Damage Lawsuit?
On a final note, Lithium is a drug that is commonly prescribed to stabilize mood swings in bipolar, depressed, and schizophrenic patients. Sadly, taking lithium over the long term and with inappropriate prescription results in kidney failure.
If this happens to you or your dear one, get legal assistance for a lithium kidney damage lawsuit to get the compensation you need to help you recover and lessen the burden.
