Ozempic Stomach Paralysis Led to Hospitalization for Severe Vomiting, Abdominal Pain: Lawsuit

After just a few months of taking Ozempic, a Kentucky woman indicates that she developed crippling stomach paralysis, according to a recent lawsuit filed against Novo Nordisk, the drug’s manufacturer.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by Erica Bell on September 5 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, where a growing number of similar complaints have been consolidated before U.S. District Judge Karen S. Marston for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings, as part of an Ozempic lawsuit MDL, or multidistrict litigation.

Bell joins hundreds of other consumers now pursuing Ozempic stomach paralysis lawsuits against Novo Nordisk, as well as Wegovy lawsuits, Mounjaro lawsuits and other claims against manufacturers of similar drugs marketed in recent years for treatment of diabetes and weight loss, which are known as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists.

Each of the claims raise similar allegations that the drug manufacturers placed a desire for profits before consumer safety, by failing to adequately warn patients and the medical community about the risk of serious gastrointestinal problems, which may result in complete stomach paralysis, also known as gastroparesis.

Bell indicates she began taking Ozempic in January 2023, and continued to inject the medication until April 2023.

In that short time, she indicates that Ozempic caused stomach paralysis, resulting in persistent vomiting and severe abdominal pain. This led to emergency medical treatment, and she was ultimately diagnosed with gastroparesis, which delays the emptying of contents from the stomach.

“Gastroparesis can interfere with normal digestion and cause nausea, vomiting (including vomiting of undigested food), abdominal pain, abdominal bloating, severe dehydration, a feeling of fullness after eating just a few bites, undigested food hardening and remaining in the stomach, acid reflux, changes in blood sugar levels, lack of appetite, weight loss, malnutrition, and a decreased quality of life,” the lawsuit states. “There is no cure for gastroparesis.”

While the drug’s warning label does indicate that users of Ozempic face a risk of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and constipation as common side effects, Bell points out that the drug maker fails to mention gastroparesis or stomach paralysis, minimizing the risks associated with the drug.

As a result, Bell indicates that she has been left with severe injuries “which are permanent and lasting in nature,” according to the lawsuit.

She presents claims of inadequate warning, fraudulent concealment, fraudulent misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, and seeks both compensatory and punitive damages.

September 2024 Ozempic Lawsuits Update

There are currently more than 800 product liability lawsuits filed against the manufacturers of GLP-1 medications throughout the federal court system, which are all centralized before Judge Marston in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Before moving forward with case-specific discovery or preparing any individual cases for trial, Judge Marston has recently announced that the court will first address a number of “cross cutting” issues, which impact all claims in the litigation. Therefore, early discovery and motions will focus on addressing whether the claims are pre-empted by federal law, and whether plaintiffs must provide specific gastroparesis diagnostic testing evidence in the Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro lawsuits.

In addition, the court is still considering whether the first phase of discovery will also include an examination of the general evidence that Ozempic causes stomach paralysis, or whether challenges to the admissibility of expert witness testimony will be addressed during the work up of individual bellwether claims for trial.