There are more than 2,000 cases filed in the Actos Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) pending before a United States District Court judge in the Western District of Louisiana. The Actos MDL bellwether cases involve identifying two of the best plaintiff cases and a third case selected by the defendant Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Takeda is the manufacturer of Actos, which has been associated with bladder cancer. Actos is in a class of insulin-sensitizing drugs known as Thiazolidinediones, which was approved to treat Type II diabetes.
The Western District of Louisiana bellwether trials are scheduled to start Jan. 27, 2014; a second will begin in April 2014.
There are about 3,000 cases pending in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Ill. The bellwether process here is under way. The cases in Chicago’s Circuit Court are being handled by Judge Deborah Dooling.
Earlier in 2013, the first of the Actos trials was concluded in California state court. The jury found in favor of the plaintiff and against Takeda for failure to warn, awarding $6.5 million in damages. However, the court found in post-trial motions that one of the plaintiff’s witnesses should have been excluded and overturned the damage award.
A second Actos trial was started in August 2013 in Baltimore that resulted in a $1.7 million verdict in favor the plaintiff. That verdict too was overturned because of the jury’s finding that the plaintiff was contributory negligent. Because the verdict was inconsistent, the verdict was vacated in its entirety. A new trial will be set.
Kreisman Law Offices has been handling pharmaceutical defect cases for individuals and families including those cases associated with the use of Actos, Yaz, and Yasmin for more than 37 years, in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Brookfield, Riverside, Bedford Park, Justice, Hickory Hills, Blue Island, Calumet Park, Riverdale, Dolton, Calumet City, Chicago (West Town, Little Italy, Chinatown, Washington Park, Burnside, Pill Hill), Villa Park and Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.
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