Family of Hard Rock exec who committed suicide sues drug company
Relatives of Hard Rock Hotel executive Randy Kwasniewski, who committed suicide in March 2010, filed a wrongful death lawsuit Wednesday against the company that manufactures the sleeping pill Ambien.
The lawsuit alleges sanofi-aventis U.S., a limited liability company based in Delaware, knew Ambien was defective "and had the propensity to cause severe injury, including death."
Unbeknownst to Kwasniewski, the complaint alleges, "Ambien may produce suicidal thoughts, ideations, strange bizarre behaviors and actions."
"Defendant was well-aware of numerous adverse reactions to Ambien which resulted in suicide or suicidal ideation," according to the document, which claims sanofi-aventis "deliberately underwarned about the possible reactions to Ambien."
Sanofi-aventis spokesman Jack Cox issued a statement Wednesday via email: "We’re not able to comment on litigation. However, what I can tell you is that as with all medications, it is important that patients only take Ambien as directed by their physician and as described in the prescribing information."
According to the lawsuit, a Nevada physician prescribed the drug for Kwasniewski, "and he used it as prescribed."
After taking Ambien around March 8, 2010, Kwasniewski "developed symptoms and ultimately died on March 9, 2010 as a result of the side effects of Ambien."
Kwasniewski, 56, was found dead in his Summerlin home March 9, 2010. He died of a single self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, the Clark County coroner’s office reported.
His widow, Jennifer, and two children, Taylor and Dylan, filed the lawsuit in Clark County District Court. They are represented by Las Vegas attorneys Eckley Keach and Robert Murdock. Dylan is 16, and his sister, Taylor, is an adult.
Other defendants named in the lawsuit are Nadine Leone, a marriage and family therapist, and Behavioral Healthcare Options, a Nevada company.
The lawsuit alleges Leone, an agent of Behavioral Healthcare Options, saw Kwasniewski as a patient around March 4, 2010, and was aware that he had been prescribed Ambien. According to the complaint, Leone failed to warn Kwasniewski about the possible mental and emotional effects of taking the drug.
Neither Leone nor representatives of Behavioral Healthcare Options responded to requests for comment Wednesday.
According to a medication guide that appears on the sanofi-aventis website, serious side effects of Ambien include abnormal thoughts and behavior.
"Symptoms include more outgoing or aggressive behavior than normal, confusion, agitation, hallucinations, worsening of depression, and suicidal thoughts or actions," the guide said.
In 2006, four plaintiffs filed a class action lawsuit that alleged Ambien caused them to eat and drive in their sleep.
The following year, the Food and Drug Administration notified health care professionals of its request that manufacturers of sleep drugs strengthen their product labeling to include stronger language about potential risks, including sleep-related behaviors such as sleep-driving.
"What is the most important information I should know about Ambien?" the medication guide asks.
It provides the following response: "After taking Ambien, you may get up out of bed while not being fully awake and do an activity that you do not know you are doing. The next morning, you may not remember that you did anything during the night."
In an email Wednesday, FDA spokeswoman Sandy Walsh said she could not comment on any specific case.
"Regarding Ambien more generally, in the past year we have asked the company for additional drug safety information as part of our ongoing assessment of the drug. We cannot speculate what may happen next, but we are actively reviewing all available safety information for this drug," she wrote.
Kwasniewski had been in his position as president and chief operating officer at the Hard Rock Hotel since New York-based boutique hotel operator Morgans Hotel Group bought the resort in February 2007.
He had been overseeing a $750 million expansion that added two hotel towers, casino space and a larger concert hall to the property.
Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710.
