Accutane Trials Stem From Side Effects

The most recent Accutane trial involved three plaintiffs, only one of whom – unfortunately for the rest of the Accutane plaintiffs – walked away with a settlement. Gillian Gaghan, Kelley Andrews, and James Marshall all had their Accutane trials heard recently in court. They all experienced Accutane side effects, which include: gastrointestinal issues such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. They all associated their problems with the once-popular acne drug Accutane. The drug was recalled by its drugmaker, Hoffman-LaRoche, purportedly due to generic competition, but the 2009 recall came after a string of side effects began coming to the attention of the Food and Drug Administration and legal action threatened to follow from some patients.

                  James Marshall, a former aspiring actor, was perhaps the most famous Accutane plaintiff due to the high-profile nature of his case. He had roles in the movies A Few Good Men and Gladiator before being stricken with ulcerative colitis after his 1992 Accutane prescription. However, Hoffman-LaRoche’s lawyers presented in court an investigation that showed Marshall had experienced intestinal problems before beginning treatment with Accutane. Although he experienced different intestinal symptoms after beginning Accutane, the jury decided to rule in favor of the defendants and not award Marshall with any money.

                  Kelley Andrews also walked away from her Accutane trial with nothing. At 29 years old, she was the youngest of the three plaintiffs. The jury decided that she would have taken the medicine anyway even if she had been properly warned of the long term Accutane side effects, so they determined that she should not have a case. 34-year-old Gillian Gaghan, who has experienced intestinal problems linked to Accutane so severe that she will be partially incontinent for the rest of her life and will likely be permanently scared from corrective surgeries. She was awarded $2 million by a jury in the Accutane lawsuit and was the only individual in this string of Accutane trials to have been awarded a settlement. Victims who suffer from the adverse effects of Accutane should consult an experienced Accutane lawyer as soon as possible.