NEW YORK CITY, N.Y., April 9, 2014 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — A Louisiana jury has awarded $9 billion to a New York man who developed bladder cancer after taking Actos, Weitz & Luxenberg announced today. The verdict, issued Monday night, orders Takeda Pharmaceuticals to pay $6 billion in punitive damages, and Eli Lilly to pay $3 billion.
Plaintiff Terrence Allen, a New York resident, was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2011 after taking Actos for more than four years. Mr. Allen and wife Susan brought the suit against Takeda, a Japanese pharmaceutical group, and Lilly, a pharmaceutical company based in Indianapolis, claiming the companies failed to warn that taking the drug could increase the risk of cancer. Mr. Allen’s case was the first lawsuit filed in the Actos Multi-District Litigation.
Actos, which was manufactured by Takeda and marketed in the U.S. by Lilly, has been widely used since 1999 by diabetics to control blood sugar levels. The drug is FDA-approved, but several safety studies have revealed a link between the drug and an increased risk for bladder cancer.
Allen’s suit claimed that Takeda and Lilly continued to manufacture and market the drug despite learning of the drug’s danger and failed to relay the bladder cancer risk to the medical community.
The verdict, delivered by a jury of eight, found Takeda and Lilly responsible and issued the $9 billion verdict. The verdict also ordered $1.475 million in compensatory damages.
The trial (Allen et al. v. Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., # 6:12-cv-00064) was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
About Weitz & Luxenberg:
Founded in 1986 by attorneys Perry Weitz and Arthur Luxenberg, Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C., today ranks among the nation’s leading law firms. Weitz & Luxenberg’s numerous litigation areas include: mesothelioma, defective medicine and devices, environmental pollutants, accidents, personal injury, and medical malpractice. Victims of accidents are invited to rely on Weitz & Luxenberg’s more than 25 years of experience handling such cases.
You can contact the firm and get more information at http://www.weitzluxenberg.com/ .
NEWS SOURCE: Weitz and Luxenberg, P.C. :: This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (who is solely responsible for its accuracy) by Send2Press® Newswire, a service of Neotrope®. Original syndication source of this press release: https://www.send2press.com/newswire/Weitz-and-Luxenberg-Jury-Awards-9-Billion-to-Diabetic-Put-at-Cancer-Risk-by-Actos_2014-04-0409-005.shtml.
