Actos Side Effects Lawsuit Filed In Illinois Cook County Court

A new Actos side effects lawsuit was filed in Cook County Court of Illinois on June 14, 2013. The plaintiff is suing Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly Company, the manufacturers of a type 2 diabetes medication, for injuries sustained as a direct result of using the drug. She is seeking more than $50,000 in damages, according to her Actos bladder cancer lawyer.

The case

The Plaintiff took Actos as prescribed by her physicians. The risks were not made clear to her until after the fact, when she had already suffered grievous bodily harm. Doctors diagnosed her with bladder cancer, even though she did not previously demonstrate significant risk factors or family history of that disease. Her Actos bladder cancer lawyer reports that she has suffered “pain, suffering, disability, medical bills and economic loss” as a result of using the drug.

The Actos lawsuit plaintiff is suing on five separate counts, including:

• Complaint at Law – for researching, developing, designing, manufacturing, distributing, marketing, promoting, supplying and selling a “defective and unreasonably dangerous” drug.
• Negligence – for “carelessly and negligently” failing to reflect the evidence from research and clinical trials, and misrepresenting the facts to the medical community and patients.
• Breach of Express Warranty – for failing to conform to the package statements.
• Breach of Implied Warranty – for claiming that the medication was “of merchantable quality and fit for common, ordinate and intended uses,” such as the long-term management of diabetes.
• Deceptive Practices – for engaging in fraudulent or deceptive acts that violate the law.

Actos side effects in the news

ABC News reported that patients taking Actos for more than a year are at increased risk of bladder cancer. The other drug in the same pharmaceutical class – Avandia – puts patients at increased risk of heart attacks, so it really is the choosing of two evils, researchers say. Sue Kirkman MD, vice president of medical affairs for the American Diabetes Association, told the news station that the reports on the safety of the product have been conflicting, but her clinicians have already identified a number of other issues with the class, including “fractures, fluid retention and congestive heart failure.”

Amid mounting lawsuits, Consumer Reports warns the public to avoid the use of Actos and its generic equivalents. The consumer protection group pointed to Actos side effects such as: heart failure, bone fractures, and bladder cancer.

“People with diabetes should use pioglitazone, generic or brand-name Actos, only as a last resort,” they said in a public health alert.

How to file an effective Actos side effects lawsuit

Despite the fact that the FDA recently approved the first generic form of Actos, the litigation is proceeding full steam ahead. MDL No. 2299 is underway in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. The first federal Actos lawsuit is expected to appear in court on November 3, 2014. The second trial is set for July 5, 2015. The goal of these early bellwether trials is to determine the strength of both opposing arguments and decide how the remaining 1,000+ cases will be handled – either through an Actos settlement or individual trials.

Meanwhile, in California, a jury awarded a plaintiff $6.5 million in an Actos side effects lawsuit, but it was overturned by a judge who felt the lead expert witness was not credible. For plaintiffs seeking compensation for cancer that they believe was caused by taking Actos, winning a case will boil down to believability and evidence. Therefore, it’s important to choose an experienced Actos bladder cancer lawyer with the in-depth knowledge and resources necessary to take on a large pharmaceutical company in court.