Jury Rules In Favor of Plaintiff in Actos Bladder Cancer Trial
Although Takeda Pharmaceuticals argued that a plaintiff’s life style choices, including smoking, caused her bladder cancer, on Friday, October 3rd, ruled in favor of Frances Wisniewski’s claim in the bladder cancer trial that Actos injured her.
Wisniewski was prescribed Actos to treat Type 2 diabetes in 2004. Two years later, doctors found a tumor in her bladder and removed it. Wisniewski kept taking Actos, and a second tumor was found in 2008. She finally stopped taking Actos in 2011, when she learned about the growing body of evidence linking the Type 2 diabetes medication to bladder cancer risk, and filed a personal injury lawsuit against the company in 2012. She took Actos for 7 years total, and still battles bladder cancer.
Takeda attempted to shift blame to the plaintiff during the course of the trial, pointing to her smoking habit, and the potential that her surgeons did not remove all of the second tumor, which led to the bladder cancer’s metastases. The company also argued that they had filed all necessary safety studies with the FDA for the drug to be approved for use in the US.
Wisniewski’s attorney, however, pointed to evidence from a previous Actos trial, which showed that Takeda had either negligently or willingly destroyed some documents that could have contained information about the safety of their blockbuster Type 2 diabetes drug. He argued that Takeda was out only for profit, and did not release information from more thorough safety tests on Actos for four years, until the company had made billions of dollars off the drug’s sale.
Wisniewski is the seventh Actos case to go to trial. Her personal injury trial follows a record-breaking Actos injury case in which plaintiff Terrence Allen received $9 billion in compensatory and punitive damages – $6 billion from Takeda and $3 billion from Eli Lilly, the company’s US Actos distributor. Last month, a judge refused to overturn or lessen the verdict.
“Patient safety is a critical priority for Takeda,” said Kenneth D. Greisman, senior vice president, general counsel, Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. “We believe that we have acted responsibly with regard to ACTOS and plan to vigorously defend the company against future lawsuits …Takeda respectfully disagrees with the verdict and we intend to challenge this outcome. We have empathy for Ms. Wisniewski but we believe we presented sufficient evidence to show that her condition was not caused by ACTOS.”
A multidistrict litigation (MDL) has consolidated around 3,500 Actos personal injury lawsuits in Louisiana under Judge Rebecca Doherty. Court records also indicate that Takeda faces another 4,500 Actos cases in Illinois, West Virginia, California, and Pennsylvania, where Wisniewski’s lawsuit was filed.
The Strom Law Firm Can Help with Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Cases, Including Against Actos
If you or a loved one have taken Actos to treat Type 2 diabetes, and have since suffered dangerous side effects including developing bladder cancer you may be entitled to compensation. The attorneys at the Strom Law Firm can help with personal injury cases, including against Actos manufacturer Takeda Pharmaceuticals. We offer free, confidential consultations to discuss the facts of your case, so do not hesitate to contact us. 803.252.4800
