San Diego, CA (PRWEB) March 28, 2014
http://www.resource4thepeople.com/defectivedrugs/Actos-Bladder-Cancer-Lawsuit.html
Resource4thePeople today announced its latest update for consumers following litigation involving allegations that the use of Actos to treat diabetes can cause bladder cancer.
Among the most recent developments is continuing testimony in a Nevada trial* in which lawyers for two women are seeking over a billion dollars in damages over allegations that the women developed cancer because they used Actos to treat their diabetes.
The trial has been underway for several weeks with lawyers for two Clark County women in their 80s seeking compensatory and punitive damages against Takeda Pharmaceuticals, manufacturer of Actos (pioglitazone), according to the court file in the case.
"Due to Takeda Pharmaceutical’s conscious decision to keep this information from consumers and their doctors, we now have patients who are left to bear the permanent injury caused by Actos,” one of the plaintiffs' lawyers told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in a March 9, 2014 report.** “That’s why we will be asking for over a billion-dollar punitive damage verdict.”
The Nevada cases are among thousands of Actos lawsuits that have been filed over allegations of bladder cancer and the bulk of them, 2,923 cases,*** have been consolidated before a federal judge in Louisiana.
Those figures**** were compiled by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation as of the latest reporting period ending March 13, 2014.
"The continued increase in the number of Actos lawsuits alleging that the medication may cause bladder cancer reflects the increasing number of inquiries we are receiving from consumers seeking information about their options to seek compensation over these allegations," said Resource4thePeople.
"Therefore we will continue to provide free consultations to consumers who are inquiring about whether they are eligible to file a lawsuit in connection with these allegations and are seeking experienced, aggressive legal representation."
Resource4thePeople is also informing consumers that it will keep them abreast of the latest development in litigation involving allegations in lawsuits that Actos may cause bladder cancer.
In other Actos litigation, another jury is continuing to hear evidence in the first federal bellwether trial***** selected from the nearly 3,000 cases in the Louisiana multidistrict litigation, according to the court file.
In that trial, a lawyer for man who claims he was diagnosed with cancer because of his use of Actos told jurors that the medication's manufacturers hid the risks of its Actos diabetes drug from consumers and doctors and should be held liable for the former shopkeeper’s cancer, according to a Feb. 3, 2014 Bloomberg News report.******
The plaintiff was prescribed Actos and used the product for about seven years, from 2004 until 2011, when he was diagnosed with bladder cancer, according to the court file in the case.
Resource4thePeople has found a significant increase in consumer interest about their legal options over bladder cancer allegations after the release of a June 15, 2011 Food and Drug Administration safety announcement.*******
The FDA safety announcement was issued after the agency reviewed a study sponsored by Takeda Pharmaceuticals which documented an increased risk of developing bladder cancer with Actos than other diabetes drugs.
Here is part of the safety announcement:
“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is informing the public that use of the diabetes medication Actos (pioglitazone) for more than one year may be associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer. Information about this risk will be added to the Warnings and Precautions section of the label for pioglitazone-containing medicines."
Two other trials outside this litigation were held in 2013 in which juries returned verdicts against Takeda Pharmaceuticals involving allegations that the medication can lead to bladder cancer.
In one case a Maryland jury awarded******** of $1.7 million to the family of a man who alleged that his use of Actos caused him to die of bladder cancer. That verdict was overturned after the judge found that the victim’s 30-year smoking habit contributed to his death.
The Maryland case was the second in which a jury found in favor of a plaintiff alleging that Takeda Pharmaceuticals was liable over bladder cancer but had the damages overturned on legal technicalities, according to court documents.
The Maryland case was preceded by one in California where a jury found in April that Takeda should pay $6.5 million in damages over similar allegations, according to the court file in that case.*********
Bloomberg News reported Sept. 26, 2013 that Takeda Pharmaceuticals, which is Asia's largest drug manufacturer, has been named in "more than 3,000 suits over the drug."**********
The report cited important facts about the Maryland case:
"A Maryland jury ruled that Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. (4502) didn’t properly warn an ex-U.S. Army translator and his doctor about the risks of its Actos diabetes drug and ordered the company to pay more than $1.7 million in damages. A judge immediately threw out the verdict.
"Jurors in state court in Baltimore deliberated more than six hours over two days before finding Asia’s largest drugmaker liable for the cancer death of Diep An, Michael Miller, one of An’s lawyers, said in an interview. Since jurors also found that An contributed to his death by smoking for 30 years, Judge Brooke Murdock set the verdict aside based on Maryland law."
Sources:
*Case # A-13-680556-C, Triana vs. Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Nevada District Court, Clark County
**http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/las-vegas-trial-starts-monday-multibillion-dollar-liability-case-against-diabetes-drug-maker
***In Re: Actos (Pioglitazone) Products Liability Litigation, MDL2299 U.S. District Court, Western District of Louisiana
****http://www.jpml.uscourts.gov/sites/jpml/files/Pending_MDL_Dockets_By_District-March-13-2014.pdf
*****Allen v. Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, 12cv0064 U.S. District Court, Western District of Louisiana
******http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-02-03/takeda-jury-told-officials-hid-diabetes-drug-s-cancer-risks-1
******* http://www.fda.gov/drugs/drugsafety/ucm259150.htm
********An v. Nieberlein, Case # 24-C12003565, Circuit Court for the City of Baltimore, State of Maryland
*********Cooper v. Takeda Pharmaceuticals America Inc., Case #CGC-12-518535, California Superior Court, Los Angeles
********** http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-09-26/takeda-failed-to-properly-warn-about-actos-risks-jury-rules-1