| Sanofi-Aventis named in Class Action Suit |
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Sanofi-Aventis, which makes the drug Ambien has been named in a class action lawsuit by Patrick J. Kennedy who claims that the drug cause him to awake in a trance like state, and met with an accident.
The suit, filed March 6 in New York against drug-maker Sanofi-Aventis, includes testimonials from four lead plaintiffs, according to a copy of the lawsuit posted on their attorney’s Web site. One recounts being in a car crash that she did not remember.
"I simply do not remember getting out of bed, being pulled over by police or being cited for three driving infractions," Kennedy told a news conference. "I am deeply concerned about my reaction to the medication and my lack of knowledge of the accident that evening."
On Thursday, Kennedy said that after a series of votes on Wednesday night he took the prescribed amount of phenergan, which treats gastroenteritis, as well as Ambien. He said he had not consumed alcohol.
The company is maintaining, that it stands by the drug’s safety, which has been in use for last 13 years admitting that sleep walk is one of the rare side effects.
Phenergan is a powerful drug, commonly used by cancer patients who need to take high doses of opiates to control their pain.
Among the plaintiffs are a Florida housewife who often ate raw eggs and whole loaves of bread while sleepwalking; a Texas woman who woke up in jail after driving while asleep and crashing into parked cars; a Navy lieutenant facing court-martial for shoplifting an "X-Files" DVD; and a New York woman who opened her door to a stranger while asleep and was sexually assaulted.
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Middle-aged Americans are considerably sicker than their British counterparts even though the United States spends more than twice as much per person on health care as Britain, researchers said Tuesday.
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