$200 million to settle Seroquel lawsuits
Tuesday, August 10th, 2010
A Delaware-based drugmaker is paying nearly $200 million to settle lawsuits over its blockbuster medication, Seroquel. This despite the company's success in getting many of the early lawsuits dismissed from court.
More info:
Astrazeneca’s statement on the settlement
More than 20,000 patients have sued AstraZeneca, saying the company didn't properly warn them and doctors that Seroquel could cause weight gain, diabetes and other health problems. The drug is used to treat psychiatric conditions, and sales are in the billions annually.
Rather than defend each case in court, the company will distribute the settlement among 17,000 plaintiffs.
Eggen: These payments are per capita relatively small payments. So I think Astrazeneca is viewing this as a pretty good deal for them.
Jean Eggen is a professor at Widener School of Law. She says it's better to settle for a small amount, than go through protracted litigation.
Eggen: They could be spending just an exorbitant amount of money defending lawsuits, even if they win them.
While the company says it has appropriately warned doctors about the side effects of the drug, the federal government warned Astrazeneca in July to stop distributing material that did not include warnings about causing diabetes. One third of the Seroquel lawsuits are pending.
difficulty sleeping headache irritability i had to many occurs to count and the liner stared to get a hole in it i went to to the bath room its biger then the hole in the tolet my lips trun a bright red peal and red raped heart bet blistering of the siken my liver was high i had a gi don and a ct scan don on my haed nouthing from my neck and the right side of my head no mater what i take it doesnt take away the pain in my haed my stem on the right side hearts it jumps around no stop pian all day in less i lie down it stops i have a bomp in my skin in be tween my abs had difficty swaiiowing i thouth pepole were affter me and walk around whith a knif jumpet tho my moms window and went in her room and went in her pers and took her vicdons she was a sleep i thout she tould me to i put knifs on pols walk all the way to the river some thing told me to it sounded like some one i new left my shoes was walking back two sherfs stop me and ask me if i berok out a car window with some thang they ask me what was wrong with my face i sed i was sik they let me walk home they scared me i dont no what i was doing i dont no i was walking around when to some ones house and say green guys were onder ther ind look at my moms vent and side i was going to cute thanking pople were in me i was off seroquel wehen all this happen pepol thold me all this i felt bad forever thang i did this is whats happening right now my neck and the hole side of my brin herts i preinted up the side effects before i went to the hospetel went twices the frist one sed it was a head headc and they give me a pain shot didnt wrok 20 mines lather affter i got home i had to call a amberlens to come pick me up and take me to mercy hosptel and i showed them the side effect of seroquel they just look at them affter i thold them they have my hestery on what meatel pill i took they dident check they ask me what was whong i told them my right haed and my neck to my shoulder and my lower back they did blood they didnt find nuthing in my blood did a ct scan and foound nuthing wrong with my brin so they put me on iv and out maybe treediffent shot one was for pain that wrok in tell i got have way home then it stared to heart on my right side and i tould my dr gacy nadtlny
i didnt want them so did my dad she you dont have to but will give it a shot she stared me on one houndered and jump me allthe way up to tree hounder iwent back in tell her they whernt working so i didnt have to take them i even told her i bairly took them she jump me up to for hundered my dad was ther when every body told me what i did i walk to mental and tryed to tell jhon lewis he said i had to do drugs class because i went in on meth i dont no why i did meththat day the were trying not to laght at me when i was talking to themm i told them i whould take drug class i clean up on my o i went back in clean there were perod i get lock up at merry k shell for what happen all souden now they can see me in less i took drug class i couldent tell jhon i was upset when he told me that i thout when you had a peroplem weth the medacashen or sumething on your mine at you had some to talk to i tryed to tel him what was wrong he berty much didnt want to her it this was affter i did all that and every body told me what happen one more thang teens and adules take seroquel when they do math to go to sleep and when they do hairen its allmose the same thang as hairen my best frind dieed off hairen she took them ones in gerat wile so she can feal like she was on hairen its the down feeling the teens want and to sleep when they are on meth she dint die from it she die hairen ok now hers agood resn to take off for good dont let them chang the chemcels ok she told me it was a new serquel i got reactsen to on and off ok thank for giveing me your time to tell you my name is michael frank lewis and i am not the only one wants off.ask youll see
Attorneys are into making money, doctors and phamacutical companies carry insurance for protection from medical malpractice. People are really being experimented on. I personally hate the side affects of medications, so I, am looking for alternative therapies that do not require the use of medications.
I was given serequel and abilify to cause post-traumatic stress disorder. I have continual blinking episode moreso when i get tired but i'm sure prospective employers have noticed this condition.
My son-in-law took Seroquel and had two mini-strokes. He was in the Army at the time. The Army prescribed the medication to him. He is now on medical leave. Should he still speak with an attorney concerning the medication and his strokes?
For those who are taking seroquel also known as (quetiapine fumarate) you should be extra careful. Many of these medications can cause other medical conditions or even injury or death. If you read the list of side-affects of these medications they were put there for a reason, they are listed to protect physicians from liability should injury or death occur to a patient. I would encourage people to talk with their physicians about alternative therapy to help manage their symptoms. Many anti-psychotic medications only mask the problem, and can cause a build-up of toxicity in the blood which can be dangerous to your health.
My advice to people who are dealing with medical conditions and medications is to first of all get a copy of your medical records from the hospital. Make your request under the (FOIA) Freedom Of Information Act,or HIPAA Law, or under the Privacy Act of 1974. Most attorneys will only represent individuals who have been injured or who have died due to medical negligence or wrong doing. People should take the time to review their medical information for accuracy. The above laws were put into place to protect individual rights, so read them carefully. Attorneys, in my opinion are expensive. People should not be afraid to learn about self-help. There are many places to purchase "Pro Se " manuals concerning laws so that you can advocate for yourself. Don't be afraid to ask physicians questions about what is in your medical records. Remember what you don't know now could turn out to be disasterous later.
What attorney can I contact in California to file suit for Seroquil ruining my life? I am serious. MY health is down, I have black outs while driving from it and even got a DUI because of it. This product is unsafe aqnd should be removed from the fd list of legal drugs
took seroquel too.developed type 2 diabettes.can get records.how do i get in touch with a layer? diane scott
I believe that there are many psychiatrist who need to be evaluated for their symptoms of mental illness so that they can be prescribed the right medications. Remember to pay attention to psychiatrist, if they act different around you because of their symptoms you should go to the DSM IV manual to see if their behavior is different that yours. If they won't talk to you it could be a diagnosis of "Avoidant Personality Disorder" (DSM IV Code 301.82)
Zyprexa damage Claims Still Unresolved-
Eli Lilly's #1 cash cow Zyprexa drug sale $40 billion dollars has a greater risk of causing type 2 diabetes over the non-user of Zyprexa. So,here we have a conflict of interest that this same company also is a big profiteer of diabetes treatment. The use of powerful antipsychotic drugs has increased in children as young as three years old.
While psychiatrists are being paid by pharmaceutical companies to promote psychiatric drugs, people who are taking the drugs are dying. One in 145 adults died in clinical trials of those taking the antipsychotic drugs Zyprexa.
— Daniel Haszard Zyprexa whistle-blower http://www.zyprexa-victims.com