Court is Establishing a Website for Avandia Lawsuit MDL
November 19th, 2008 • Filed Under: News • 18 Comments
According to a Pretrial Order issued by U.S. District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe, who is overseeing the federal Avandia lawsuit MDL, the Court will establish and maintain a website that will post information and orders from the multi-district litigation.
Last year, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated and centralized all federal Avandia lawsuits before Judge Rufe in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
The cases are being coordinated during pretrial litigation under a federal procedure known as an MDL, or multi-district litigation. This process is designed to avoid duplicate discovery and inconsistent rulings in cases spread throughout the federal court system. If the cases do not settle or resolve during pretrial litigation, they will be remanded back to the original court where they were filed for trial.
According to the current scheduling orders, the first trials in the Avandia litigation are expected to begin in June 2010 on cases filed directly in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The discovery plan calls for 100 of these cases to be designated for early discovery, which will involve case specific depositions by the parties.
A subset of the early discovery cases will later be selected for the initial trial pool, which will be the first Avandia trials to be heard by a jury.
The Court indicates that a website will be established for the MDL to make information and orders from the Avandia lawsuit “readily and publicly available.”
It is not uncommon for courts assigned to oversee an MDL to create a dedicated website, or an area on the Court’s main website, to post information specific to the MDL. Similar sites are currently available to the public in the Digitek litigation in the Southern District of West Virginia, the Levaquin litigation in the District of Minnesota and Kugel Mesh Hernia Patch litigation in the District of Rhode Island, to name a few.
Judge Rufe’s order indicates that the Court intends to establish the Avandia MDL website with the input and participation of the parties’ Steering Committees and Liason Counsel.
Comment by RB on 19 November 2008:
Do you have any idea what the website address will be or is ?
I was diagnosed wth congestive heart failure in early 2007 and I was on avandament & avandia for about 2 years. I had 95% of the side effect and my primary doctor never did take me off of avandia until I told I was not taking it anymore & then she switched me to Januvia. I this she still do not believe this drug is not fit for human consumption.
Comment by Leon on 22 November 2008:
My wife also took Avandia for about two years. She felt awful while on the drug and requested her doctor to stop prescribing this poison. Within approximately 25 months after her quiting the drug, she began to exhibit classic Avandia symptoms. Her doctor prescribed both pulmonmaty and cardio tests. He then told her she had developed PPH. Which is almost always fatal. She died soon thereafter with congestive heart failure and lungs full of fluiid
We should never let these huge corpotations to get away with what they have done to so many families.
Comment by patricio on 24 January 2009:
I took avandia on prescriiption by a medical doctor for a year. Months later I had two angioplasties (stents were implanted in two of my major heart arteries. Three month later, I had massive mycardiac infarction (heart attack) that nearly killed me. This was followed by a quadruple heart bypass. I already have an attorney representing me.
Comment by Robert on 16 February 2009:
I took avandia and after I stopped and changed doctors I developed pnuemonia and then was told I had congestive heart failure and that my left side of my heart had only a 15 injection fraction
Comment by AL on 16 February 2009:
I also took this Drug and had five heart attacks ! I had five angioplasties with six stents put in my heart . I am lucky to be here.I havent flet right sence this Drug is BAD NEWS !
Comment by Jack on 20 February 2009:
My father took this poison and he passed in 2005 from 5 heart attacks and at the end he had 3 stroks, to all people please do not take this drug, its bad news. we have filed a lawsuit agenst avandia…..
Comment by Raul on 3 March 2009:
I too was on avandamet for about 6 years then avadia for a about 1 1/2 years. I eventually suffered a stroke in may of 2007 which damaged both my eyes leaving me with no peripheral vision on my right side. I’ve already been examined and told that my eyes are permanently damaged and that part of my eyesight will never come back. I consider myself lucky compared to others I’ve been reading about. I only want compensation for the productivity I know that I’ve lost out on. On top of not ever being able to drive again. What do you suppose the loss of part of my vision is worth? it’s like walking around with one of my eyes being covered. Try it sometime. Oh I do already have some lawyers taking care of my case for me by the way they contacted me last year after my initial attempt was not even considered back when it first happened. Bet they wish they would have stuck it out now
Comment by Robert on 9 March 2009:
Ihad a slight stroke approximately 3 years ago. I recovered with no visible side effects. About 5 months ago I started developing a proble with my right eye. They got me in in just a couple of days but the damage was donr. I had a stroke in my right eye. No pain but the entire center vision area is now useless. No vision from that eye except around the edge. I where a patch often because of the light from the eye with lack of vision is impacting the use of my existing eye. As the gentleman named Raul stated, if you don’t think its tough to lose sight in one eye try patching one I guess I’m still more fortunate then a lot of people but I am handicapped more then I would have ever imagined. Simple chores like shaving, seeing one side of your face to shave has become a challenge..
Comment by Glenn on 13 March 2009:
I took Avandia from 1999 till 2006 when Doctor took me off it. I suffered from macular adema,and swelling of the feet and legs and this causes me celluitis, which is very painfull. I have had hospital stays from this. I had echo cardiagram and have enlarged heart. I have pending lawsuit agains avandia. Get it off the market it is nothing but a poison.
Comment by mike on 1 May 2009:
my wife was taking this drug,we paid $160., for me to watch this drug kill her, she died april 13th 2005 we were married for 35yrs,i found her dead.i knew this drug killed her looked for two years for an attorney to no avail. then one day in may it all hi tthe fan, thanks to u.s. news ,finally it looks like will get some justice, for all the people this drug has harmed i send my prays to you mike
Comment by nicole on 2 May 2009:
Since I started using hydroxycut I have had uncontrollable itching at night all over my body.
Comment by Doug on 4 June 2009:
I was put on Avandia in April 2000. I suffered severe congestive heart failure and was hospitalized in March 2006. One of the first things the doctors did is stop giving me Avandia that very day.
Comment by JILL on 5 June 2009:
HELLO. MY DR PUT ME ON AVANDIA ABOUT 2 MTHS AGO.I AM A MARRIED 30 YR OLD WIFE AND MOTHER OF 2 SMALL CHILDREN. I AM ALSO TYPE 1 DIABETIC. I HAVE HAD SEVERAL UNEXPLAINED SYMTOMS AND AM WONDERING IF THIS IS THE CAUSE OF IT. I HAVE HAD SEVERAL CHEST PAINS, I GUESS I WOULD DESCRIBE THEM.IN MY UPPER LEFT SIDE ABOVE AND FELT LIKE BEHIND MY CHEST. THEY WEREN’T REALLY BAD, BUT I KNEW SOMETHING DIDN’T FEEL RIGHT. I JUST EXCUSED THEM. ALSO TODAY I EXPERENCIED A VERY WIERD “THING” TO MY EYES, LIKE LITTLE GLOWING SPECKS EVERYWHERE & IT LASTED FOR ABOUT 2 MINS.NOW THAT I HAVE READ ALL OF YOUR POSTS I AM CONCERNED WITH THIS MEDICINE. I AM ALSO ON OTHER INSULINS AND MEDS DUE TO MY DIABETES. I DON’T KNOW IF THIS IS DUE TO THIS MEDICINE OR NOT??? IF SOMEONE COULD HELP ME AND EXPLAIN THAT WOULD BE GREAT. THANK YOU
Comment by David on 18 June 2009:
I was an over-the-road trucker with diabetes. You cannot take insulin, and drive interstate, according to department of transportation laws! So my doctors prescribed large dosages of Avandia since pills were allowed! I am 52 yrs old now, and am on permanant disability, for cardo-miapothy, chronic re-occuring congestive heart failure, and have had 3 strokes in the past 3 months! And am on a regimand of several heart medications, lasix, insulin, etc etc. I am now homeless, because I lost my job as a warehouse manager, and am living in a homeless shelter in Clearwater, Fl. All because of becoming sick, and from Avandia!
Comment by Judy on 19 June 2009:
My husband Robert was put on Avandia in Jan 07. He was experiencing tightness in his chest for a while. After a physical with
his physician and a ekg the doctor said that he could no longer take
the Avandia because their was something wrong with it. My husband
said “Well I don’t want to be a sitting duck just waiting for a heart attack
to happen”. This was in June of 07. Three weeks later my husband
passed with a 80% blockage that was not detected during his phsical.
Now with the Avandia lawsuit I hope that justice pays. Along with myself and my two minors left behind and other adult children whom
miss our love one so much, today June 19 2009 marks two years he has been taken from us because of Avandia. I do pray for all that have
lost a loved like us that we can all get some closure to this soon.
I really do miss my husband extremely we were married just short of
21 years. He was only 48 years old. His autopsy showed how he
was a very healthy man except AVANDIA took that away from him
and his family. I do pray justice helps so I can continue raising my
children with all the dreams we did have for them that was cut short
due to his untimely passing that has caused alot of hardship on us all.
Comment by Emilie on 27 June 2009:
Avandia was prescribed for 3 years and my doctor still recommended it after the press reported information about stroke and heart attacks. I had 3 optic nerve strokes in my left eye and one optic nerve stroke in my right eye and then I stopped taking Avandia against my doctor’s wishes. It has been 2 and 1/2 years since I stopped taking Avandia and my vision has been stable… thank God I still have part of my vision. My vision will never improve and I have other complications with eye pressure and retina bleeding and will probably lose more vision. Now I have to see a retina specialist and will need laser and or injections in my eye sometime in the future. I am angry! Today I am filing a report with the FDA.
Comment by Bill in Atlanta on 1 July 2009:
Wow, I kind of stumbled onto this site quite by accident. My doctor put me on Avandia 2X daily, Glipizide, and insulin for several years now. So far so good, but I have had some shortness of breath and an occaisional bout with minor chest pain. I had a heart Catherization done a few years ago and it showed no blockages or other problems. Maybe I should request a stress test as well. I turned 50 this year and noticed that my vision was getting worse, Thought it was age, but I’ll get it looked at now.
Comment by Amanda on 2 July 2009:
I have a friend who has suffered a stroke and heartattack while taking Avandia. What do we need to do to from here? I just saw a commercial a few hours ago and didn’t realize until we spoke that he was a candidate.