First Levaquin Tendon Tear Lawsuit Scheduled For Trial August 2010

-AboutLawsuits

02/24/2009- U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim, who is overseeing all federal lawsuits alleging tendon ruptures from Levaquin, has issued a pretrial order which identifies 15 cases that will begin case-specific discovery and sets out a discovery schedule where the first trial should begin on or about August 2, 2010.

Levaquin (levofloxacin), which is manufactured by a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, is an antibiotic belonging to a group of drugs known as fluoroquinolones. It is approved for treatment of bacterial infections of the urinary tract, upper respiratory tract and prostatis, with annual sales of over $2.3 billion.

Side effects of Levaquin have been found to increase the risk of tendon damage. The FDA required that a “black box” warning be added to all of the antibiotics in this class in July 2008, warning users that they should contact their doctor immediately upon noticing any signs of tendon problems so that the medication can be stopped to reduce the risk of a tendon tear.

The Levaquin tendon side effects have mainly involved the Achilles tendon in the ankle, but have also occurred in the knee, shoulder, hand and elbow.

Johnson & Johnson currently faces a growing number of Levaquin tendon tear lawsuits which allege that inadequate warnings were provided about the risk of tendon damage, which caused many patients to not recognize the early signs of an injury and prevent an actual tear of the tendon.

In federal court, the Levaquin litigation has been consolidated and centralized before Judge Tunheim in an MDL, or multidistrict litigation, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. The cases are being coordinated for pretrial litigation to prevent duplicative discovery and inconsistent pretrial rulings.

In an order issued February 20, 2009, Judge Tunheim identified 15 Levaquin tendon lawsuits which have been designated as “Phase I” cases, where case-specific discovery will begin. The other Levaquin lawsuits in the MDL will only have limited discovery at this time, including an exchange of fact sheets and medical records, while the parties focus on preparing the “Phase I” cases for early trials.

According to the schedule laid out in the order, all discovery depositions of plaintiffs, treating physicians and fact witnesses in the “Phase I” cases must be completed no later than September 1, 2009.

The parties have then been directed to meet no later than September 15, 2009, to discuss the scope of the bellwether cases, which will be the first of lawsuits to go to trial next year.

Bellwether trials are selected in complex consolidated litigation as the first cases to go to trial, where the issues presented to the jury will be representative of other issues that will come up throughout the cases involved in the litigation.

The lawsuits selected from the “Phase I” cases for bellwether trials, will go through expert discovery toward the end of this year and early next year. Pretrial dispositive motions and Daubert motions on the qualifications of the experts must be filed and served by April 15, 2010.

Judge Tunheim indicates that the Court and the parties will select the first bellwether case for trial after the hearing on the dispositive motions, and the trial is scheduled to begin on or about August 2, 2010.

At an early status conference on September 4, 2008, the parties had suggested that the first Levaquin lawsuits could be ready for trial by January 2010. However, the filing of additional lawsuits has slowed the discovery process and the parties have had differences of opinion about how the Levaquin trial and discovery plan and which cases should be selected for early trials.

If you or a loved one have experienced serious side effects or injury as a result of Fluoroquinolone antibiotics such as tendonitis, torn ligament, or ruptured tendons, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact one of our Fluoroquinolone lawyers today for more information regarding your legal rights. For more information about a potential Fluoroquinolone lawsuit, or Fluoroquinolone side effects, fill out our free case evaluation form or call the toll-free number listed below.