Gadolinium Contrast Agents/NSF Attorneys

Mobile, Alabama

Gadolinium is a rare-earth element that is the crucial ingredient in a contrast agent that helps distinguish between normal and abnormal tissue during magnetic resonance imagining (MRI), magnetic resonance aniography (MRA), or computed tomography (CT). It is injected into the body before the scan, and it is generally removed from the bloodstream by the action of the kidneys.

In May, 2007 the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requested that makers of gadolinium-based contrast agents add a new boxed warning, indicating that patients with kidney insufficiency are at risk for developing a debilitating and potentially fatal disease known as nephrogenic system fibrosis (NSF) or nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy (NFD). NSF causes the skin to become rigid and tight, even impairing the ability of sufferers to bend their joints. In severe cases, it can also lead to fibrosis in internal organs that may lead to organ failure.

The disease was first identified in 1997, and named in 2000. Although worldwide there are only about 200 cases reported annually, 90 cases have been reported in the specific group of gadolinium-enhanced MRI patients with severe kidney dysfunction. This number will continue to grow.

If you have kidney dysfunction, you should have been alerted to the risks of gadolinium exposure before receiving an MRI, MRA, or CT. If you received an MRI, MRA, or CT and begin to feel tightening or swelling of the skin, an alteration in skin texture, muscle weakness, deep bone pain, or skin lesions, you should immediately contact a doctor.

If you have had an MRI, MRA, or CT, and have been diagnosed with NSF, contact Long & Waite today since you may have a valid claim against those who exposed you to this risk. We will give you a free confidential consultation, and we take these cases on contingency, meaning we don't get paid unless you do.