Accutane Settlements

Pharmaceutical manufacturing company Hoffman-LaRoche Inc. was recently dealt yet anoter set back in its ongoing legal proceedings against plaintiffs alleging they were injured by Accutane. Roche was ordered by a New Jersey jury to pay over $10 million in punitive damages to a plaintiff who allegedly suffered bowel problems and physical injuries as a result of taking the acne drug Accutane. This settlement is the biggest to date for any Accutane arbitration case.

The plaintiff in this case developed ulcerative colitis, a type of bowel disease that causes inflmmation. Her attorneys alleged that pharmaceutical manufacturer Roche had failed to properly warn patients that taking Accutane might cause bowel problems like the ones their client suffered from. Even though the plaintiff resides in the state of Utah, her attorneys filed the case in New Jersey since this was where Hoffmann-LaRoche Inc. was incorporated.

Currently, there are more Accutane related cases pending on behalf of other plaintiffs. Updates & news pertaining to Accutane lawsuits will be posted here.

Update:  Roche has filed an appeal asking for a new trial.

Accutane Class Action Lawsuit

To date, no Accutane class action lawsuit has been filed in any state court. Patients who have taken the drug Accutane or its generic version (isotretinoin) might have an increased risk of forming a debilitating gastrointestinal disease. Persons who have taken Accutane and are suffering form of serious gastrointestinal illness like Crohn's disease continue to file individual claims, also known as arbitration cases.

Accutane Lawsuit Settles for $25 Million

Andrew McCarrell, an Alabama resident who had to have his colon removed as a result of a bowel disorder linked to the drug Accutane, recently won a judgement against the pharmaceutical giant and manufacturer of Accutane, Hoffmann-La Roche Inc.

In his lawsuit, the 38 year old native says Roche failed to properly warn of Accutane's potentially dangerous side-effects which he alleges caused his painful bowel disorder and eventually led to the removal of his colon.

A New Jersey jury agreed and awarded the $25 million for compensatory damages in a retrial that stemmed from an appeals court overturning the original $2.6 million judgement awarded to McCarrell in May of 2007.

Hoffmann-La Roche, based in Nutley, N.J., says it plans to appeal.

Hoffmann-La Roche stopped selling Accutane in June of 2009 citing competition from generic manufacturers and the high cost of defending itself against Accutane related lawsuits