AboutPaul D. Friedman, M.A., Ph.D., J.D. Expertise I have been a civil litigation attorney since 1989 and am Certified as a Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. I am licensed to practice law in Arizona, Colorado (inactive) and the District of Columbia (inactive). I am also licensed with the District Court of Arizona, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.
I can answer general questions regarding products liability and injury matters. I do not give legal advice over the internet and it is helpful if you list where you live such as the country and/or state.
I am a licensed attorney, real estate broker and adjunct professor.
Experience in the area I have been a civil trial attorney since 1989 and I have a masters degree in bioethics and a doctorate of philosophy regarding comparative ethics.
Organizations State Bar of Arizona
State Bar of Colorado (inactive)
District of Columbia Bar (inactive)
Federal Bar
Licensed in Arizona District Court
Licensed in Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Licensed in the United States Supreme Court American Bar Association National Board of Trial Advocacy
American Association for Justice Arizona Trial Lawyers Association
American Society for Bioethics and Humanities Kennedy Institute of Ethics National Association of Realtors
Education/Credentials Bachelor of Arts 1985
Juris Doctorate 1989
Master of Arts in Bioethics 2004 Doctorate of Philosphy 2006
Awards and Honors Phi Beta Kappa
Multiple Who's Who
Publications A list of my copyrighted publications and presentations is contained at WWW.EXPERTETHICS.COM
Question Hi there. I have been taking Zyrtec daily for three years for sinus and throat allergies. Recently, I decided to cut back to once every two days to relieve some stress on our budget. I discovered that when going more than about 36 hours without the Zyrtec, I would experience episodes of intense itching. The itching is usually in my groin, but also sometimes occurs on my head, legs, and back. After talking a counsellor friend of mine who suggested that it may be withdrawal, I did some research. I didn't find much, but I did find a few individuals who have experienced very similar reactions after coming off of Zyrtec. I decided that I needed to stop taking it, so I quit cold turkey. I believe my suspicions have been confirmed - I am in withdrawal from Zyrtec. I keep having these fits of intense itching that last from 30 minutes to over an hour. When the episodes subside, I usually get an hour or two of no itching before it starts up again. This is extremely frustrating and I don't see warnings of such side effects anywhere in Zyrtec's documentation.
My question is, do I have any legal recourse against the makers of Zyrtec, or are there any class action suits against them (Pfizer) because of this?
Thanks in advance for your time.
Answer Mr. A:
Thank you for the question. I am pretty well-versed in pharmaceutical liability since I am involved with a number of the national tort claims involving vioxx, celebrex, baycol, fosamax, phen fen, and others.
As of yet there are not any "class actions" involving Zyrtec. There may be individual claims filed in various jurisdictions. I also could not find any MDL (Multi District Litigation) filed in the federal system.
Benadryl may be a useful medication in curbing the itching.
There is a very hostile environment right now regarding pharmaceutical liability cases from the FDA. I suggest you contact a local attorney to determine whether they believe you have a potential claim.
