Gold Shield Group

Last month, the FTC sent letters to seven law firms voicing concerns that some of their TV ads soliciting clients for personal injury lawsuits may overstate the risks associated with taking certain medications, including prescription drugs, which may prompt consumers to stop taking their medications even if the harms of doing so outweigh the benefits.

TINA.org obtained the letters through a Freedom of Information Act request. One of the firms was Gold Shield Group.

Here’s what one of the Gold Shield Group TV ads cited in the letter said:

Attention, Type 2 diabetics. Invokana, Invokamet, Jardiance, and Farxiga are linked to an increased risk of toe, leg, and foot amputations. The FDA has also warned of links to genital gangrene, also known as Fournier’s gangrene or ketoacidosis.

And what the FTC said:

We note that the FDA describes gangrene of the genital area as a rare side effect. Accordingly, the implication that these products pose a substantial risk of gangrene of the genital area appears to be false. In addition, this ad may convey to a significant number of viewers that taking Invokana, Invokamet, Jardiance, or Farxiga poses a substantial risk of toe, leg, and foot amputations and that the risks from taking these medicines outweigh their benefits. Unless you have competent and reliable scientific evidence to support such claims, you should not make them.

The other firms that received a letter from the FTC were Pulaski Law Firm, Matthews and Associates, Sokolove Law, Amicus Legal Group, Knightline Legal and Ketterer Browne & Anderson.

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