There is quite a bit of buzz going around that since Johnson & Johnson has lost its first Levaquin side effects trial, more settlements may be just around the corner.
It was a big blow to Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary, Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, to have lost their first Levaquin trial to 82-year-old John Schedin, having to pay him more than $1 million dollars in damages. However, the loss was more monumental than just the amount of money the company had to shell out: It could spark a losing trend for the companies that may have them fearing that they will wind up losing billions of dollars like GlaxoSmithKline has over Paxil and Avandia.
Johnson & Johnson is facing many lawsuits that have been filed against them over the harmful side effects of several of its popular drugs, including Levaquin and Yaz/Yasmin. Many of the claimants are alleging that Johnson & Johnson purposely tried to hide the dangerous potential side effects that can occur from taking the drugs. Yaz/Yasmin can cause heart problems, pulmonary embolisms, gallbladder disease, strokes and even blood clots in its users, while Levaquin has been proven to cause tendon ruptures in its users.
It takes just one successful case against drug makers to draw out many more payouts and settlements to patients that have suffered injuries, and Johnson & Johnson has just lost its first Levaquin tendon rupture case to Schedin. While plaintiffs are claiming that Johnson & Johnson hid the dangerous side effects from them, the drug makers stand by the labeling of their products, which do list the potential tendon ruptures of Levaquin (though these warnings are buried on the fourteenth page of the insert). Even the black box warning was similarly buried. These facts alone will likely spell more payouts being awarded against Johnson & Johnson.
While the company may not have completely hidden the warnings against its products, it certainly didn’t go out of its way to show them, either. This fact alone could spell more losses for them.
