Woman Files Trulicity and Ozempic Lawsuit Over Ileus, Intestinal Obstruction

Severe permanent injuries have left a Virginia woman requiring medical monitoring and treatment for the rest of her life due to side effects of the GLP-1 medications.

A Virginia woman says she suffered severe injuries due to the side effects of the diabetes drugs Ozempic and Trulicity, which she says caused her intestines to shut down, leading to dangerous blockages.

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Tia Hairston in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on August 29, naming Novo Nordisk, the makers of Ozempic, and Eli Lilly, the makers of Trulicity, as the defendants.

Both drugs belong to a class of diabetes and weight loss medications known as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, which also include Mounjaro, Zepbound, Wegovy, Victoza, Rybelsus and others. Originally approved solely for diabetes treatment, the drugs gained popularity and new uses once they were linked to significant weight loss side effects.

However, Hairston’s claim joins a growing number of Ozempic lawsuits, Wegovy lawsuits and Mounjaro lawsuits filed by individuals nationwide who say the manufacturers failed to warn patients of the potential gastrointestinal side effects, such as stomach paralysis, ileus and intestinal obstructions, as well as permanent vision loss.

According to her complaint, Hairston used Ozempic from June 2021 until July 2022, and then took Trulicity from August 2022 to September 2023. The lawsuit claims that as a result of taking the drugs, Hairston’s intestines stopped contracting correctly, which is known as ileus.

With her intestinal contractions slowed or halted, Hairston’s body was unable to expel food, gas or liquids, leading to a dangerous blockage that caused severe injuries, according to the complaint. In extreme cases, intestinal blockages can cause the intestines to rupture, resulting in serious health complications.

“The Ozempic label lists nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and constipation as common adverse reactions reported in Ozempic patients, but it does not include these adverse reactions in its ‘Warnings and Precautions’ section, nor does it warn that these adverse reactions are symptoms of more severe conditions, including ileus, intestinal obstruction, and their sequelae. Intestinal obstruction is not mentioned at all in the label.”

— Hairston v. Novo Nordisk, et al

The side effects have left Hairston with permanent injuries, pain, mental anguish, diminished enjoyment of life, and the need for lifelong medical treatment and monitoring, according to the complaint.

She presents claims of negligent failure to warn, breach of warranty, fraudulent concealment, fraudulent misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation/constrictive fraudulent concealment, and seeks both compensatory and punitive damages.

GLP-1 Gastrointestinal Injury Lawsuits

Hairston’s lawsuit was filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, where all other GLP-1 gastrointestinal injury lawsuits have been consolidated under U.S. District Judge Karen S. Marston as part of a GLP-1 MDL, or multidistrict litigation.

Judge Marston is overseeing coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings in the MDL, and has directed the parties to focus in the early stages of the litigation on certain issues, including discovery and pretrial motions regarding general causation evidence about the link between Ozempic and ileus, gastroparesis and other injuries, as well as questions about whether the claims are preempted by federal law.

Following the resolution of those issues, Judge Marston is expected to direct the parties to select representative GLP-1 lawsuits for early bellwether test trials, to help gauge how juries will respond to evidence and expert testimony likely to be repeated throughout the litigation.

While the outcomes of such early test trials are not binding on other claims, they could help potentially facilitate an Ozempic settlement agreement that would avoid the need for each individual case to be set for trial in the future.