Personal Injury Law

Neurontin litigation goes to trial but stalls on first day

By Brian F. LaBovick, Esq.

One of the current hot legal topics is the lawsuit against Pfizer and their wonder drug, Neurontin. Neurontin had been marketed by Pfizer as a drug that treated multiple conditions prior to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of the drug to treat these various symptoms and ailments. While the drug was approved to treat epilepsy, it was not approved by the FDA to treat either mood swings or arthritis as its advertising indicated. Presently under investigation is whether or not a side effect of Neurontin is an increase in suicidal thoughts and tendencies of those taking the drug. This issue surfaced after the family of a 39-year old woman that committed suicide while taking Neurontin filed a lawsuit against its maker, Pfizer. The deceased was taking the drug to treat several health issues including epilepsy, mood swings, and arthritis. There are approximately 1200 additional lawsuits pending against Pfizer and their drug, Neurontin.

The first lawsuit against Pfizer, in regard to Neurontin, to be heard before the court was the case of Susan Bulger, the 39-year old woman that committed suicide. After the first day of trial, the lawsuit brought against Pfizer by Ms. Bulger's family was dropped after an anonymous donor agreed to provide monies to the family with the stipulation that the monies be put into a trust for Ms. Bulger's daughter. The family determined that this would be in the best interests of the child and chose not to proceed with their lawsuit. The court dismissed the case. The attorneys for Pfizer continue to assert that there is no evidence that Neurontin increases or causes suicidal thought or behaviors. However, no real answer has been provided to this question. With the first lawsuit being so quickly dismissed, the mysteries and unanswered questions regarding Neurontin may have to wait to be discovered and answered until further lawsuits come before the courts.

It appears that with so many other lawsuits pending against Pfizer regarding Neurontin that this story is long from over. If Neurontin truly is a potentially dangerous drug, the public needs to be made aware of this before more innocent people are affected.  Attorneys on both sides of the arena seem ready and willing to share their perspectives and evidence with the courts and their juries. How this legal saga is going to play out is anyone's guess. At this point, there are still more questions than answers. It is important to note that in 2004, Warner-Lambert paid $430 million in to settle allegations involving Neurontin related to off label marketing, in a case handled by the Justice Department. 

Click here to read more on the Neurontin case from Bloomberg.

Pfizer's stock closed at $16.07 today.

Stay tuned...

Full post as published by LaBovick Injury Law Blog on August 04, 2009 (boomark / email).