Tens of thousands of people with cancer have filed lawsuits in state courts across Delaware, California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New York. Lawyers were conflicted about the strategy to pursue cases over the recalled heartburn medication Zantac. Some plaintiffs' lawyers disagree about how to pursue lawsuits over recalled heartburn medication Zantac, leading to hotly-contested court cases.
Tens of thousands of people with cancer have filed lawsuits in state courts across Delaware, California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New York. Lawyers were conflicted about the strategy to pursue cases over the recalled heartburn medication Zantac. Some plaintiffs' lawyers disagree about how to pursue lawsuits over recalled heartburn medication Zantac, leading to hotly-contested court cases.
Zantac Cancer Claims
Nearly 200,000 people claim that Zantac recalled in 2019, caused various cancers. But three years later, U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenberg imposed deadlines on the lawsuits and limited expert testimony to five types of cancer. As a result, many plaintiff's firms have had to file suits in state courts. This suggests an increased vulnerability for pharmaceutical companies exposed to the litigations' unproven claims.
Lawsuits that are filed as a result of Zantac injuries could be brought to either state courts or federal court. Many of these suits will name brand manufacturers incorporated in Delaware, such as GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer, which approved a sale of Zantac in 1983. Others may name local retailers who sold the drugs. Dr. Rosenberg ordered plaintiffs with claims in the registry to decide by July 31 whether they would file their lawsuits in state court, but many did not.
The multidistrict litigation is moving forward but has been reduced in size. Last year, Judge Rosenberg dismissed many of the claims, including those under the U.S. Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and medical monitoring, which would have covered diagnostic tests that could find cancer in the future. She also tossed out claims against several of the defendants, including all the distributors and pharmacies.
On Sept. 21 and 22, Rosenberg held hearings to see whether or not the general causation experts for the plaintiffs were admissible. The team of lawyers on his leadership narrowed their list of associated cancers to the bladder, gastric, esophageal, liver, and pancreatic cancers. They've postponed the third hearing from Sept. 30 to Oct. 7 because of Hurricane Ian.
Many of the cases in state courts are pursuing claims over cancer. As a result, the Zantac mass tort is winding up to look like what happened in Roundup litigation, where the vast majority of lawsuits ended up in state courts and produced a $289 million and a $2 billion verdict. Two years ago, Bayer agreed to pay $10 billion to settle about 125,000 claims with most in state courts. The multidistrict litigation for Roundup at its peak only reached 4,400 cases.