Today begins the first Actos MDL case in the US District Court, Western District of Louisiana. Jury was selected on Friday and today begins opening statements in the case of Terrence Allen, a man who was diagnosed with bladder cancer in January 2011 after taking Actos pursuant to a prescription starting in June 2006.
Mr. Allen’s lawsuit claims that despite bladder cancer findings in animal model studies and other pre-clinical evidence, Takeda failed to adequately conduct complete and proper testing prior to filing for and obtaining FDA approval for Actos.
Furthermore, according to Mr. Allen’s complaint, Takeda concealed and failed to completely disclose its knowledge that Actos was associated with or could cause bladder cancer or its knowledge that it had failed to fully study and test regarding that risk.
Mr. Allen’s attorneys will argue that as a result of Takeda’s actions, Mr. Allen was unknowingly put at risk for, and ultimately diagnosed with, bladder cancer.
There are over 6,000 cases pending for individuals who also believe they were unknowingly put at risk for bladder cancer as a result of Takeda’s choice to not expose the full risk of Actos to the public.
These individuals anxiously await the results of Mr. Allen’s case as well as their chance to be heard in the Louisiana District Court or in a Cook County, Chicago court.
Trials get underway in Cook County starting in March 2014.
Three previous cases that accused Takeda of failure to warn of bladder cancer with Actos usage have already made their way through the courts.
The results of these cases have been mixed, as should be expected with different factual scenarios.
Two juries found in favor of plaintiffs and awarded them substantial damages as a result of their injuries.
Both of these cases were overturned by judges as a result of legal technicalities and are currently being appealed In December 2013 a Las Vegas jury found in favor of the defendant, Takeda.
THL will continue to update the public about Mr. Allen’s case as well as the Cook County trials as they get underway.
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