Despite Drug Manufacturers Protests, Accutane Settlements Rise

Accutane is a powerful acne medication manufactured by Hoffman LaRoche and the subject of an Accutane recall in 2009. According to scientists, Accutane has serious long term side effects including Crohn's Disease, Ulcerative Colitis and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Although the acne medication was removed from the market in the United States in June 2009 amid concerns about an increased risk of those diseases, an official Accutane recall was not issued. There are currently nearly 3,500 Accutane lawsuits filed in New Jersey state court. The trial date set for October will involve several groupings of plaintiffs with similar facts and warnings in place at the time the medication was used.

Another Accutane trial is already scheduled for August 2011, involving the retrial of a case filed by Kamie Kendall, who was previously awarded $10.5 million for damages from Accutane. That earlier verdict was reversed on appeal because Roche was wrongly prohibited from introducing evidence about the number of individuals who have used the acne medication over the years. At least one or two other Accutane suits that are compatible with the Kendall case are expected to go to trial before the same jury. In April, a New Jersey jury awarded $2 million in damages to a woman who developed Accutane ulcerative colitis. However, the same jury declined to award damages to two other plaintiffs involved in the same trial.

Accutane patients typically suffer from these serious bowel disorder side effects years after taking Accutane. The wait for a trial can exacerbate the pain of patients who have suffered those side effects, some waiting up to fifteen years to see their day in court. These early trial dates, commonly referred to as bellwether trials, are useful in complex litigation involving a large number of cases, as they allow the parties to gauge how juries are likely to respond to evidence that will be similar to what is presented in other cases. So far, plaintiffs and experienced Accutane lawyers have been successful in seven out of the nine cases that have been presented to a jury, with millions of dollars in damages from Accutane being awarded.