Levaquin Lawsuit: Attorneys Disagree over Trial and Discovery Plan
October 20th, 2008 • Filed Under: News • 8 Comments
A status conference was held Friday before U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim, who is overseeing the federal Levaquin lawsuits pending in Minnesota. In documents filed with the Court before the conference, the attorneys for the parties disagreed about the process the court should adopt for selecting the first cases for trial.
Levaquin is an antibiotic sold by Johnson & Johnson for treatment of upper respiratory infections, urinary tract infections, prostatis and other bacterial infections. It is part of a class of antibiotics known as fluoroquinolones, which have been associated with tendon toxicity and an increased risk of tendon ruptures, most frequently involving the Achilles tendon.
All Levaquin tendon rupture lawsuits filed in federal court have been consolidated and centralized in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota before Judge Tunheim for pre-trial litigation as part of a procedure known as an MDL, or multidistrict litigation.
Under the federal procedure, the cases are all handled together to during discovery and pretrial litigation to efficiently move the mass tort cases through the court system. The MDL rules normally require that cases be returned to the original jurisdiction where they were filed for trial.
On October 15, 2008, lawyers representing plaintiffs with a Levaquin lawsuit in the MDL filed a Proposed Discovery and Trial Plan which asked the court to set initial trial dates and case specific discovery in cases filed directly in the District of Minnesota. They indicated that this would allow the Court overseeing the MDL to preside over the trials as well, ensuring the cases would not be transferred to another forum for trial.
In pharmaceutical litigation involving claims for drug side effects, the first trials scheduled are considered “bellwether” cases, which are selected to be representative of the issues which will be presented throughout the litigation, and to help establish potential values for various groups of similar cases.
On October 16, 2008, the defendants, Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals Research & Development and their subsidiary Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, filed a response to the plaintiffs’ proposed Levaquin lawsuit trial plan, indicating that it was premature and inappropriate to designate the cases at this time.
They indicated that parties have not had an opportunity to gather sufficient information to assess which cases would be most representative of the issues presented in the Levaquin tendon rupture litigation.
The cases allege that Johnson & Johnson failed to adequately warn users about the potentially debilitating side effects of Levaquin. The lawsuits selected for the first trials trial will be used to gauge various issues in the litigation, such as the impact of other risk factors for tendon ruptures, the use of Levaquin together with corticosteriods, the increased risk among those over 60 and the sufficiency of the different variations of the Levaquin warning label.
The defendants indicated that the court should allow additional case-specific discovery to ensure a proper and informed selection of cases which “will evoke the most important issues” for trial.
Comment by david on 28 October 2008:
Typical stalling tactics by the defendants. Same thing we see regarding the Black Box Warnings request by the FDA in June of 2008, regarding spontaneous tendon ruptures and the fluoroquinolones. Here it is almost November, FOUR MONTHS LATER and still NO Black Box Warnings OR Dear Doctor Letters. Same request was made by Public Citizen in 1996 when levaquin first hit the market, as well as the Attorney General of the State of Ilinois in 2005. Still NO Black Box Warnings, and still NO Dear Doctor Letters either. Even while negoiating with the FDA regarding these new warnings J and J CONTINUED stating that the warnings were more than adequate in a personal corrspondence to me. Yet their defense is that the warnings are adequate in spite of this being a known adverse reaction to this class for two and one half decades. Please……how much more “disovery” could they possibly need? They have twenty five years worth. Levaquin blows tendons, plaintiff’s blew a tendon after taking Levaquin. Warnings regarding this have been grossly inadequate for over two and a half decades now for the whole class and over a decade for levaquin alone. End of story.
Comment by Pam on 28 October 2008:
I had a terrible reaction to levaquin. I attached my central nervous system and caused nerve damage all along my spine. My left lung shut down and nerve damage down my leg. It has taken months for recovery and I am not still not recovered since the end of August. It is almost Nov. now. It should not be on the market it is deadly.
Comment by Marty on 14 November 2008:
I started a ten day routine of Levaquin for a sinus infection May 22, 2008. Somewhere around the fifth day of the routine, my right ankle became very painful. I completed the tenth day on May 31, 2008. The pain did not cease and on June 13, I stepped off my front porch stoop and my ankle tendon tore (with the “grain”) and as a result, broke my ankle. The tendon became detached from the bone causing the break.
I have no history of anything like this occurring in my past and looking back realize without a doubt that the Levaquin caused the problem. My orthopaedist placed a boot on my foot and told me to keep it immobile and elevated for 3-4 weeks.
On July 1, 2008 I had an episode of oxygen deprivation and thought I was having a heart attack. Had to go to the hospital the next day and a CT Scan revealed both lungs full of blood clots. My cardiologist said it was from the ankle break/tear and stated that one more blood clot would have caused a stroke or worse. Had I died, no one would have ever discovered the hidden cause (the Levaquin), it may have even been blamed on the sinus infection itself.
I want to make it clear that the tendon did NOT rupture in the usual sense of the word. My orthodaedist (I tried three times) finally said yes, it could have been caused by the Levaquin because there was no other reason. Many, many orthopaedists give their patients Cipro/Levaquin after surgery and I could tell the orthopaedist resented my bringing it up and forcing a response.
Comment by humberto on 17 November 2008:
I had been taking levaquin since 2001 prior to me being admitted to the
hospital in 2006. I had endocharditus infection in my heart my doctor at that time said I would need it for life. Legs swelled, could not urinate and lost my breath Icould not walk 5 ft. without loss of breath at the hospital. I had thought the levaquin stopped working causing all
my system to fail.
Comment by Rosialee on 25 November 2008:
I took levaquin around the 1st of Feb 2008. I have had problems with my joints hurting more than usual but though this was because I have back problems. In June and July, my shoulders began hurting even more and I had pain that I have never had before, as well as in my arms and hands. At the end of July, my left shoulder had so much pain that it felt like something tore. The pain is so bad that it makes me sick to my stomach. The catscan shows tendonitis and bursistis. My job is not physical and this should not be there by simpley moving my arm.
Comment by Kathleen on 10 December 2008:
I was prescribed Levaquin October 28,2008. I was being treated for a UTI.I took the 500mg. of Levaquin for 11 days. First I experienced like symptoms of Fibromyalgia .My entire body ached. I could hardly walk,or grasp anything. I have been having delibitating pain.The tendons in my arms are so painful.I went to the doctor and told her that my still was experiencing pain even after two weeks.I have never had such pain in my muscles and joints.
Comment by Debbie on 14 December 2008:
Who is the best person to contact regarding joing a class action lawsuit for Levaquin? I’ve responded to a few sites online, but not received much response. I had to have rotator cuff surgery as a result of the drug. It also gave me shortness of breath and chest pain.
Comment by Cari on 27 December 2008:
Well this is a real eye opener… Firstly in 1999/2000 (Christmas /New year period) I was diagnosed with a bronchial infection…and was prescribed Levaquin. I became increasingly ill and took a long time to recover. I attributed it all to the infection. Then about four months later after having continuous pain ever since ‘infection’ I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.!! I was told i would have to live with this pain..which was/is at times unbearable. However in 2004 i was given Ciprofloxicin for another infection…..I became terribly ill and in far worse pain than ever before….again i attributed it all to the infection and that i had been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia (which apparently has no known cause) In 2007 I was given levaquin for a parotid gland infection, for some reason my glands were going bananas !!! Again I experienced horrendous pain and my ankles became so tender and I could hardly walk. Not to mention that my hips were burning with pain as were my feet and my joints in general. Again i thought that my “”"Fibromyalgia”"” was flaring and that it must get worse at times of infection. Then in August 2008 again I was prescribed Levaquin for a sinus infection….. again I was in tortuous pain in my legs feet ankles etc and this time my right knee felt like it had been hit with a sledgehammer….I thought I must have hurt it and forgotten about hurting myself….!!!!! I stayed this way till now as I await an MRI…..BUT in October I had another prescription for \Levaquin as my sinus infection had returned….pain again just like before went out of control.
Finally this month december 2008 I was again prescribed a quinolone….Avelox…and lo and behold I was in agony by 2nd pill…. Knee became worse ankles were like knives were attacking them…..and a host of symptoms that I can now relate to Quinolone antibiotics. Levaquin started it all in my opinion and I feel absolutely violated and abused….my life is total pain….. and that pain increases ten times over at least every time I take one of these poisonous drugs…. I can PROVE that my problems are Levaquin related…. Emerg visits, Fibro diagnosis, knee problem, ankles from hell, digestive probs, heart pain, gland problems…all since Levaquin…. I was healthy and working 3 jobs before 1999…..
I am gathering all my info….I will n ot let this rest… i am a nurse by profession and will not stop till I prove it all.