GLP-1 Vision Loss Lawsuits Can Now Be Filed Directly in MDL Court

Direct filing will reduce delays caused by having to transfer Ozempic and Wegovy vision loss lawsuits from their original federal court to the new MDL.

The U.S. District Judge recently appointed to preside over pretrial proceedings in all federally filed lawsuits over vision loss from Ozempic, Wegovy and other GLP-1 medications has approved a streamlined process for filing new claims against the drug manufacturers.

Rather than initiating new vision loss lawsuits in various different U.S. District Courts nationwide, new claims can now be brought directly in the new MDL (multidistrict litigation), avoiding delays associated with transferring claims and allowing the parties to more efficiently manage the growing litigation.

The claims each raise similar allegations that drug manufacturers failed to adequately warn about the potential vision loss side effects from GLP-1 medications, which are also known as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists. The popular class of medications includes blockbuster diabetes and weight loss treatments like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Zepbound, Saxenda, Trulicity, Rybelsus and others.

While the medications have been widely marketed as safe and effective, as more users receive the treatments there have also been growing concerns about serious side effects, which were not initially disclosed on the drug labels, including a risk of intestinal obstructions, stomach paralysis and now the potential risk of sudden vision loss.

Thousands of Ozempic lawsuits, Wegovy lawsuits and Mounjaro lawsuits have already been filed by former users left with gastrointestinal injuries, which were centralized several years ago in a separate MDL. However, now there are a growing number of GLP-1 vision loss lawsuits being pursued by former users left with a rare eye condition, known as nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION).

Last month, all GLP-1 vision loss lawsuits filed throughout the federal court system were consolidated into a new MDL, which is being handled out of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by U.S. District Judge Karen Marston, who will preside over coordinated discovery into the link between the medications and NAION, as well as prepare a group of representative claims for early bellwether trial.

Judge Marston was already assigned to oversee the GLP-1 gastrointestinal injury lawsuits, which are pending in a separate MDL that was established in February 2024, and has already moved into discovery regarding the failure to warn about the risk of gastroparesis or stomach paralysis.

While the two MDLs will remain separate, there will likely be significant overlap between stomach paralysis and blindness lawsuits, making it more efficient for Judge Marston to oversee both federal MDLs. In addition, many of the claims also involve the same attorneys and defendants.

With much of that groundwork laid over the past year for the gastroparesis claims, Judge Marston issued a case management order (PDF) on January 29, clearing the way for plaintiffs, regardless of home state, to directly file GLP-1 vision loss lawsuits with the MDL court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The order only allows for the direct filing of single-plaintiff claims in the MDL, and it gives the defendants 30 days to object to the inclusion of any directly filed case.

GLP-1 Lawsuit Bellwether Trials

Judge Marston has already indicated that the court plans to select a small group of representative cases as bellwether trials in the GLP-1 stomach paralysis litigation, allowing the parties to gauge how juries may respond to evidence and testimony likely to recur across thousands of similar claims. The court is expected to follow a similar bellwether process in the Ozempic NAION vision loss lawsuits.

However, before the stomach paralysis trials can begin, Judge Marston has ordered both sides to resolve several issues that could have broad implications for the litigation, including preemption and general causation.

Once those matters are addressed, the MDL is expected to proceed with preparing the first set of cases for jury consideration. While the verdicts will not directly determine the outcome of other GLP-1 claims, they are likely to shape settlement negotiations.

If the parties do not reach a GLP-1 settlement agreement after the bellwether trials, Judge Marston is likely to begin remanding the cases back to their original courts for individual trial dates.

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