Actos Litigation Continues

In July 1999, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Type 2 diabetes drug, Actos. Since then, Actos has been one of the top ten best selling medications in the United States for many of those years since 1999.

However, in June 2011, the FDA warned that Actos usage for more than 1 year could be associated with increasing the risk of bladder cancer. Actos is manufactured by Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Actos is in a class of an insulin-sensitizing drugs that are known as thiazolidinediones.

Because of the harm of the continued use of Actos, more than 1,500 lawsuits have been filed in the multidistrict litigation (MDL) which is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.

A scheduling order has been set wherein the first two Actos bladder cancer trials will be heard in January and April 2014. These cases are the bellwether trials. The bellwether trial process is a sampling of Actos cases that are considered significant enough to test liability and damage issues for the remaining cases. One case is selected by the plaintiffs’ side and another selected by the defendants’ side. The idea is to try to test the waters of these cases so that an overall settlement process can be implemented.

There are also many cases relating to Actos use and its harm in state courts. In a recent state court case, the jury found that Takeda chose not to warn of the potential severe side effects and the plaintiff was awarded $6.5 million in damages. However, after the jury verdict, the trial judge excluded the plaintiff’s expert witness testimony and threw out the damage award. A new trial will be held as a result.

Illinois claims and claims around the country are being investigated involving bladder cancer with the use of Actos, ActoPlus Met, ActoPlus Met XR or Duetact.

Kreisman Law Offices has been handling Illinois pharmaceutical defect cases, including Actos cases, wrongful death cases and mass tort claims for individuals and families for more than 40 years, in and around Chicago, Illinois and around the country.

If you or a loved one has been harmed by an Actos pharmaceutical drug side effect, causing injury or death, you may have a personal injury claim. The Chicago lawyers at Kreisman Law Offices have more than 40 years of trial experience, trying injury cases related to pharmaceutical products and harmful pharmaceutical drugs. Please call us 24 hours a day at 312.346.0045 or toll free 800.583.8002 for a free and immediate consultation or complete a contact form online.

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