Takeda Actos Settlement Over Bladder Cancer Claims. A potential upcoming Actos settlement would be one of the largest settlements in US history of patients’ lawsuits over defective drugs and medical devices. Bloomberg reports that according to three sources familiar with the situation, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. has offered $2.2 billion to settle over 8,000 lawsuits alleging the manufacturer hid the risk of cancer. The settlement, which would be the first in the three years of litigation over the diabetes drug, would pay out about $275,000 per lawsuit.
Some large verdicts have been issued in the Actos litigation. Last year, a federal jury in Louisiana ordered Takeda and Eli Lilly & Co to pay $9 billion to a man who alleged that Actos is to blame for his bladder cancer. According to Bloomberg, that award was the seventh-largest in US history. A judge later reduced the amount to $36.8 million.
Product Liability
A professor of product-liability law at the University of Richmond in Virginia told Bloomberg, “This is a strong signal that Takeda really wants to settle these cases so it can avoid any more huge verdicts, but the per-case number indicates they don’t want to have to pay a premium to settle these claims.” The settlement would only apply to individuals who have already filed a lawsuit.
The national law firm of Parker Waichman LLP represents numerous clients in Actos lawsuits. Jerrold S. Parker, founding partner of the firm, has maintained a leadership role throughout the litigation by serving on the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee.
U.S. District Judge Rebecca Doherty is overseeing the Actos multidistrict litigation (MDL) consolidated in Lafayette, Louisiana, where over 3,500 cases have been filed. There are an additional 4,500 Actos lawsuits filed in state courts in Illinois, West Virginia, California and Pennsylvania.
Actos was introduced for type 2 diabetes in 1999. Plaintiffs allege that Takeda executives ignored or downplayed the risk of bladder cancer before it went on the market and misrepresented the drug.
Need Legal Help Regarding Actos?
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