Some Levaquin Lawsuits Settled for Tendon Ruptures

Johnson & Johnson has reportedly agreed to settle Levaquin lawsuits brought by some individuals who alleged that side effects of the popular antibiotic caused them to suffer tendon ruptures and other injuries. 

According to minutes from a status conference (PDF) held earlier this month in the federal Levaquin MDL (multidistrict litigation), the drug maker has reached settlement agreements in several hundred cases pending in New Jersey state court, and some federal cases pending in the MDL are also expected to settle as part of these agreements.

Levaquin (levofloxacin) is one of the best selling antibiotics in the United States, which is prescribed to prevent infection by stopping the reproduction of bacteria. However, side effects of Levaquin have been linked an increased risk of tendon ruptures, tendon damage and tendonitis, which have left many users permanently disabled after taking the medication.

Despite Settlements, Thousands of Levaquin Lawsuits Remain

Johnson & Johnson and their Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals subsidiary currently face more than 3,700 lawsuits over tendon ruptures from Levaquin brought by individuals throughout the United States. All of the complaints involve similar allegations that the drug maker failed to adequately warn about the risks associated with the medication, or provide information to consumers and the medical community that the medications should be stopped if tendon pain develops while taking the antibiotic.

The federal Levaquin litigation has been consolidated for pretrial proceedings as part of an MDL, which is being coordinated out of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, before U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim.

At a status conference held before Judge Tunheim on June 11, lawyers for Johnson & Johnson indicated that there are currently 1,787 cases pending in the MDL. Another 1,931 lawsuits are currently centralized in New Jersey state court, according to a case list (PDF) released by that court earlier this month. However, the minutes from the MDL status conference indicates that the number of cases in New Jersey has fluctuated recently due to recent settlements.

According to the minutes entry from June 11, several hundred of the New Jersey Levaquin cases have settled, but Johnson & Johnson has not yet disbursed any money. It was noted that some of the cases pending in the MDL are expected to settle, as some of the same law firms represent plaintiffs with cases pending in New Jersey state court and in the MDL.

Over the past two weeks, the docket in the MDL indicates that at least 14 cases have been voluntarily dimissed by the parties, which may suggest that the first federal claims have now settled as well.

Johnson and Johnson has successfully defended itself in three of the four Levaquin trials that have reached a jury so far in the litigation. However, one plaintiff was awarded $1.8 million in damages for a Levaquin tendon rupture in December 2010.  In addition, in at least one of the cases where Johnson & Johnson prevailed, the jury found that the drug maker failed to adequately warn consumers and doctors about the risk of tendon damage from Levaquin, but found that the plaintiff failed to establish that his specific injuries were caused by the antibiotic.

The next trial date for a Levaquin lawsuit is currently scheduled to begin in September 2012, in Illinois state court. Another Levaquin bellwether trial in the federal MDL is expected to begin in October, with the parties submitting names of possible plaintiffs by early next month.

Tendon Rupture Warnings and Possible New Claims Over Retina Detachment

The FDA required Johnson & Johnson and the manufacturers of other similar antibiotics, such as Cipro, to add a black box warning on the tendon rupture risk in July 2009, which is the strongest warning that can be placed on a prescription medication. However, the lawsuits allege that the drug makers should have added the warnings years earlier, as a petition was filed by a consumer group as early as 2006, urging the FDA to require the makers of Levaquin to provide clearer warning about the risk of tendon damage.

More recently, questions have emerged about the adequacy of warnings about the risk of retinal detachment with Levaquin, Cipro and other antibiotics known as fluoroguinolones. In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in July, researchers from Canada found that patients who took the antibiotics were five times more likely to suffer retinal detachment, which is a medical emergency where the retina peels away from its underlying lawyer of support tissue.

Some lawyers are now reviewing potential Levaquin retinal detachment lawsuits for individuals who suffered these problems, suggesting that Johnson & Johnson should have known about the risk of the eye problems, since the same effects that cause issues with the connective tissues that lead to tendon ruptures may impact the connective tissues that keep the retina attached to the gel of the eye ball.