Avandia Lawsuit Tolling Agreement Approved as Statute of Limitations Approaches in Many States
Published: April 24th, 2009 • One Comment
GlaxoSmithKline, PLC and a group of attorneys representing plaintiffs who have filed Avandia lawsuits agreed on the form for a Tolling Agreement that can be used by claimants instead of filing suit, as the statute of limitations on many cases may be approaching next month.
Thousands of individuals who used Glaxo’s diabetes drug have suffered heart attacks and other cardiac problems which they allege could have been caused by side effects of Avandia.
In many states that have a two year statute of limitations, the deadline for filing an Avandia lawsuit over cardiac injuries could be approaching next month, as the first study to disclose the Avandia heart risk was released by the New England Journal of Medicine on May 21, 2007.
Although some have suggested that the statute of limitations for cases involving heart attacks that occurred before May 2007 did not start running until Glaxo placed a “black box” warning on the medication, Avandia lawyers throughout the United States are preparing to file a large number of new cases in the coming weeks for clients whose injury occurred in states that require a complaint be filed within two years from the discovery that the injury may have been caused by the diabetes drug.
The Tolling Agreement with Glaxo can be used by any person whose claim derives from taking Avandia or related drugs, like Avandamet and Avandaryl. By completing the agreement, the statute of limitations will be paused, or tolled, until 30 days after Glaxo or the claimant provides written notice that the agreement will no longer apply.
This will allow claimants to present their cases before the statute of limitations expires without having a substantial number of Avandia lawsuits filed against Glaxo over the next four weeks, which would require the pharmaceutical company to file appropriate responsive pleadings in each case.
Executing the tolling agreement will preserve any claims that have not yet passed their limitations date on the date the agreement is completed, but can not be used to revive cases after the deadline has already lapsed.
According to the terms of the agreement, the claimants will ultimately be limited to filing their eventual Avandia lawsuit in federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania or the federal district where they used the medication. This will prevent claimants from bringing their cases in state courts, and the federal lawsuits will ultimately be transferred to the MDL, or multidistrict litigation, that has been established in Pennsylvania for pretrial litigation.
Claimants also agree by entering the tolling agreement that they will complete a Fact Sheet within 60 days providing certain information about their case, as well as produce medical records and proof that they took Avandia.
On April 20, 2009, U.S. District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe, who is handling the consolidated Avandia litigation in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, authorized the use of the approved MDL Fact Sheet by claimants who enter a tolling agreement and indicated that if the claimant later files an Avandia lawsuit complaint in Court, the Fact Sheet will become part of the discovery record in the case.
Comment by Auther on 21 January 2010:
I took Avandia and then took Avandament for 5 years I had a stroke in March of 2008, i also had been hospitalized in 2006 for my liver, my amonia level was way to high it made my brain swell I almost lost my life and at first was told i May have to have a liver transplant but I found a great doctor that has taken care of me since 2006 and has kept me stable so far. I would like for someone to contact me to see if I may even have a case against the makers.I dont know if any of these things have anything in common with the side effects or issues with the drug. Thanks..