Thanks to the June 2011 Supreme Court’s ruling which removed generic drug makers’ liability in generic Reglan lawsuits, plaintiffs who have filed lawsuits over the side effects are being forced to alter their lawsuits. In addition, many of the plaintiffs’ lawyers are encountering specific challenges once the cases reach the courtroom.
Recently, the New York Times mentioned that people who have suffered from Reglan side effects do not have any legal recourse when it comes to pursuing compensation after suffering from side effects. In the Times report, the focus was on two females who suffered from specific injuries after taking a generic version of the medication. One of the women suffered from gangrene and had to have her hand amputated; the second woman had both her hand and forearm amputated after suffering from gangrene. Both women sued the drugmakers of the generic version of the anti-nausea drug they were taking, but there was a difference in how the cases were handled.
One of the women was using a brand name version of the medication, while the other woman used a generic version of the same drug. The woman with the brand name version won her lawsuit, while the other’s lawsuit was thrown out. The main difference in the women’s lawsuits is the version of medication that the plaintiff’s took. That is the difficulty that is currently facing Reglan lawyers today. Even though a couple of generic Reglan lawsuits have been dismissed, they were dismissed in such a way that the plaintiff still has a chance of altering the lawsuit to be re-filed. Most of the time that simply means filing the lawsuit again using the name brand manufacturers as the defendants. Other times, Reglan lawyers just have to be a little bit creative.
Reglan lawsuits have been filed by various plaintiffs who have developed tardive dyskinesia after taking both generic and brand name versions of Reglan, an acid reflux drug. TD is a condition that causes Parkinson’s-like symptoms, including involuntary movement of the extremities, lip smacking and grimacing. Don’t let a few dismissals keep you from seeking the compensation you deserve — just be sure to check out your lawyer’s knowledge of PLIVA v. Mensing when choosing the right one.
