B.C. judge approves class-action lawsuit over erectile dysfunction link to drug

VANCOUVER – A B.C. judge says men who suffered ongoing erectile dysfunction after taking drugs for prostate problems and male pattern baldness will be able to pursue a class-action lawsuit against the drug manufacturer.

The lawsuit brought by Michael Miller claims Propecia and Proscar can cause impotence long after users stop taking the drugs, which contain the same medication.

Miller says the warnings issued by drug manufacturer Merck Frosst Canada and Health Canada were inadequate, and affected hundreds of men.

Miller’s lawyers told the court they have been contacted by almost 300 men — 55 of them from B.C. — who want to join the lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court.

In his recent written ruling, Justice Robert Punnett found that a class action can go ahead.

Certification of the suit is pending, dependent upon an affidavit from Miller’s lawyers with information on potential litigants and more information from both parties on expert reports they plan to submit.