Accutane Lawsuit Over Inflammatory Bowel Disease Results in $25M Verdict
A New Jersey jury has awarded $25.16 million in damages in an Accutane lawsuit, which alleged that the acne drug caused the plaintiff to develop inflammatory bowel disease.
The verdict was handed down this week in a New Jersey Superior Court, following the retrial of a case brought by Andrew McCarrell, 38, of Birmingham, Alabama. McCarrell originally won a $2.62 million award against Roche in 2007, but the company got that verdict overturned and the case was sent back for a retrial.
Roche faces nearly 1,000 lawsuits over Accutane, which has been associated with bowel problems, depression and birth defects. All of the lawsuits include allegations that Roche failed to adequately warn users about potential Accutane side effects. The company has lost all six cases that have gone to trial so far, with verdicts totaling $56 million, according to a report by Bloomberg News. One of those verdicts, with a $7.2 million award, has been overturned by a Florida appeals court.