Humira Fungal Infection Lawsuit Results in $2.2M Jury Verdict in First Trial

A Chicago jury has ordered Abbott Laboratories to pay out $2.24 million in damages for a fungal infection from Humira, in the first case over the popular arthritis drug to go to trial in the country.

The verdict came in a Humira lawsuit brought by Milton Tietz on behalf of his wife, Delores Tietz, who was diagnosed with a histoplasmosis fungal infection in May 2010, which nearly killed her.

Tietz alleged that the fungal infection diagnosis took months because Abbott Laboratories failed to warn doctors about the risk of problem. His wife died last year, of an unrelated heart attack

Do You Know About...

Childhood Diabetes Lawsuits Against Junk Food Industry

Lawyers are now pursuing financial compensation for families of children diagnosed with Type II diabetes, fatty liver disease and other chronic illnesses caused by addictive and harmful substances in ultra-processed foods.

Learn More

Following trial in Cook County Circuit Court, the jury found that Abbott was negligent and ordered the drug maker to pay $2,244,063.20 in damages. However, the jury did not agree that the drug was a defective product.

Humira (adalimumab) is a tumor necrosis factor blocker, also known as TNF blocker, which was approved by the FDA in 2003 for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. It later gained approval for treatment of psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn’s disease, moderate to severe chronic psoriasis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis, which was previously called juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. The drug pulled in sales of $6.5 billion in 2010.

In September 2008, the FDA issued a warning to health care professionals that Humira and other TNF blockers, including Humira, Enbrel, Remicade and Cimzia, carried the risk of fungal infections, including histoplasmosis, blastomycosis and coccidioidmycosis. Some of those infections could be life-threatening, the agency warned.

According to the Humira lawsuit brought by Tietz and others, Abbott waited more than a year to place a black box warning on Humira about the risk of infections and to send out a letter to doctors alerting them to the problem.

0 Comments

Share Your Comments

This field is hidden when viewing the form
I authorize the above comments be posted on this page*
Post Comment
Weekly Digest Opt-In

Want your comments reviewed by a lawyer?

To have an attorney review your comments and contact you about a potential case, provide your contact information below. This will not be published.

NOTE: Providing information for review by an attorney does not form an attorney-client relationship.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

More Top Stories

Lawyers in Suboxone Dental Lawsuits Fail To Reach Agreement on Bellwether Selection Process
Lawyers in Suboxone Dental Lawsuits Fail To Reach Agreement on Bellwether Selection Process (Posted 3 days ago)

Plaintiffs involved in Suboxone dental lawsuits indicate the bellwether selection process may be delayed due to the defendants' approach to the discovery process, which they say will cause significant delays in the litigation.