Judge Says Plaintiffs in Avandia Lawsuits Must Submit Medical Records
By Jim Greene
Published on January 22, 2010
A federal judge has ruled that plaintiffs in more than 500 lawsuits over alleged side effects caused by the diabetes drug Avandia® must provide medical records to substantiate their claims or risk having their cases dismissed.
U.S. District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe, presiding over consolidated pretrial proceedings concerning the cases, ruled that plaintiffs must provide documentation from physicians or pharmacists of having received Avandia® and medical records documenting the symptoms claimed. According to the order, the latter must extend back to one year before the onset of problems blamed on Avandia®.
Affidavits May Substitute for Lost Records
If records cannot be presented, plaintiffs must file affidavits detailing their experiences with Avandia® and explaining their efforts to find documentation and why the documentation is not available.
Avandia®, marketed by defendant GlaxoSmithKline, is used to control blood sugar in type 2 diabetes patients. Plaintiffs charge the company was negligent in not adequately warning patients about the danger of side effects such as heart attack, heart failure, stroke, liver failure, bone fractures, and loss of vision.
The consolidated pretrial proceedings are being conducted at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, located in Philadelphia. As of January 1, there were 549 individual cases included in the consolidation.
Consolidation Used As Tool to Speed Litigation
The purpose of consolidating similar cases is to eliminate duplicated efforts in pretrial discovery and to eliminate conflicting rulings that can occur when trials are conducted in many different jurisdictions. The presiding judge may also select a few example cases to try first, to establish precedents for later cases and give legal teams an indication of what to expect from juries, something that often leads to out-of-court settlements.
If you or someone you know took Avandia® and suffered from damaging side effects, it's important to contact an experienced defective products/personal injury lawyer immediately. The future direction of Avandia® lawsuits is being decided now. Your attorney will keep you up to date and let you know if you are entitled to financial compensation.
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