A former Wall Street banker and Parkinson's sufferer is suing 3 international drug companies over claims they caused his £6million gambling addiction.
Randolph Siemens, 55, is a man with many faces; former Wall Street banker, Parkinson’s sufferer, recovering gambling addict and soon to be legislative hero.
After 5 years that saw him transform from a respectable citizen dealing with a debilitating illness to a desperate gambling addict, he’s now suing 3 international drug companies for breach of warranty, negligence and negligent representation.
According to Mr Siemens, the blame for his addiction, which drove him to lose over £6million betting in casinos, online and on the stock market and plunder his children’s savings in desperation, lays firmly with these organisations.
He maintains that it was the drug Mirapex, made and distributed by the three companies in question, Boehringer Ingelheim, Pfizer and Pharmacia & Upjohn, that incited and fueled his highly compulsive behaviour.
He started taking the drug to control hand tremors shortly after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2002 and soon after began the addictive spiral that would drive his family into ruin. Claiming the drug "put a little tickle in me and then snowballed within a month" he now wants compensation for the life he lost.
While this may all seem a little too convenient, his accusations are not unfounded. A growing body of scientific research has linked the drug Mirapex to compulsive behaviour with gambling, overeating, alcoholism and hypersexuality all possible side effects. However, despite these documented results, the drug manufacturers never took steps to make individuals dependent on them aware of the risks.
It wasn’t until 2006 when Siemens read an interview about a film director with Parkinson’s who had experienced similar compulsions that he put two and two together. He ceased taking the drugs immediately and sought help from his local gamblers anonymous, making his final bet five weeks later.
Admitting, “I'm better but I'm broke" Mr Siemens is now taking the drug companies to court in an attempt to both raise awareness of the devastating side effects of Mirapex and to claim back some recompense for his family.
He is however having to go through the rather unorthodox channel of filing his claim personally at New York State Court as he is unable to afford to fund a legal team after his gambling losses.
Despite similar cases to Mr Siemens being brought to court around the country, the drug organizations in question still maintain that they "acted reasonably and appropriately", refusing to admit that they should have listed ‘compulsive behaviors’ in the drug side effects.
However, whether Mr Siemens' one man fight for justice against the teams of powerful lawyers defending these corporations will be fruitful remains to be seem.
