Judge Aims for August 2010 Start of Levaquin Lawsuit Trials
By Jim Greene
Published on November 27, 2009
The judge overseeing lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson over the antibiotic Levaquin has set a schedule for pretrial proceedings that may allow the first federal court trial to begin in August of 2010.
Levaquin is manufactured by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., and is widely used to treat bacterial infections of the urinary tract, upper respiratory tract, and prostate. It has been found to increase the chance of tendon ruptures in shoulders, elbows, and heels. The Food and Drug Administration requires a warning about the potential side effect on the labels of Levaquin and other fluoroquinolone antibiotics.
Federal court suits in the matter have been consolidated in U.S District Court for the District of Minnesota, under the supervision of Judge John R. Tunheim. He has identified 15 of what could eventually be hundreds to serve as the starting point. Plaintiffs' attorneys in the 15 will share pretrial discovery depositions of plaintiffs, their doctors, and expert witnesses.
This consolidation and selection of a small batch of cases is designed to avoid duplicated discovery efforts and inconsistent pretrial rulings. It may also give attorneys for both sides some insight into what to expect from juries in future cases, possibly leading to settlements without the need for trials.
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