Knightline Legal

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 Knightline Legal.

Here’s what one of the Knightline Legal TV ads cited in the letter said:

If you or a loved one used a proton pump inhibitor such as Nexium, Prilosec, or Prevacid and then developed stomach cancer, call right now … A recent medical study found that the prolonged use of both prescription and over-the-counter proton-pump inhibitors may double a patient’s risk of developing stomach cancer.

And what the FTC said:

We note that the study referenced in the ad found that PPI use was associated with an additional 4.29 gastric cancer cases per 10,000 people per year, amounting to a very small, .043-percent increase in risk. Accordingly, the implication that the study establishes that a prolonged use of PPIs poses a substantial risk of stomach cancer appears to be false.

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

Find more of our coverage on pharmaceuticals here.