In the most recent Levaquin lawsuit to reach trial, a New Jersey jury has returned a verdict in favor of defendant Johnson & Johnson.
This is the third Levaquin lawsuit to reach the courtroom out of thousands that have been filed. The case began with Paul Gaffney and Robert Beare, who both alleged that the drug giant didn’t properly warn them of the risks associated with Levaquin, which they claim caused them to develop ruptured tendons.
To date, as many as 2,500 people have filed Levaquin lawsuits with similar claims. All of the plaintiffs have stated that they never would have taken the antibiotic if they knew the real risks associated with it. A great deal of research has been conducted to verify that Levaquin causes an increased risk of people suffering from tendon ruptures, which is even higher in seniors and those taking corticosteroids, but patients have been claiming for years that the manufacturers of Levaquin have been downplaying those risks. Back in July 2008, the FDA issued a black box warning against Levaquin and made Johnson & Johnson update the drug’s labels to include the risk information.
With the black box warning issued and the labels updated, people who suffered from tendon started filing lawsuits. This trial is the third one to have a decision reached and it was one that many were waiting for. The jury found that the plaintiffs didn’t properly prove that Johnson & Johnson gave inadequate warnings about the risks associated with Levaquin. This case was seen as a tie-breaker case since the first two Levaquin suits resulted in a plaintiff win and a plaintiff loss. This most recent win for Johnson & Johnson just goes to show that there is no precedent to be set with drug injury lawsuits, since each individual case is unique.
