Ozempic Injury Lawyers Seek Leadership Positions in MDL Over Side Effects of GLP-1 RA Medications

With a growing number of Ozempic lawsuits, Wegovy lawsuits, Mounjaro lawsuits and other claims being brought against the makers of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA) drugs, the U.S. District Judge presiding over the litigation is expected to appoint a small group of plaintiffs’ lawyers to serve in various leadership positions in the recently created federal multidistrict litigation (MDL).

Late last week, a group of four Ozempic injury lawyers filed a joint motion seeking to serve as co-lead counsel in the litigation, which is expected to involve thousands of individual lawsuits, each raising similar allegations that side effects of GLP-1 RA medications prescribed for diabetes and weight loss were not adequately disclosed by the drug makers.

Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and other GLP-1 RA drugs have become blockbuster treatments in recent months, given the widespread promotion of the medications as safe and effective for weight loss. However, evidence has emerged that certain users experience a painful and debilitating stomach paralysis, known as gastroparesis, which lawsuits allege was not fully disclosed by the drug makers on the warning labels.

In February, after hearing oral arguments, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) issued a transfer order calling for all stomach paralysis lawsuits involving any GLP-1 RA medications to be consolidated for coordinated pretrial proceedings under U.S. District Judge Gene E.K. Pratter in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

There are currently only about 76 lawsuits that been centralized before Judge Pratter. However, Ozempic injury lawyers anticipate that thousands of claims are likely to be filed in the coming months and years, in line with the growing popularity of Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro prescriptions. The JPML noted some estimates indicate nearly 2% of the U.S. population have been prescribed these drugs for either diabetes treatment or weight loss.

Ozempic Injury Lawyers Seek Leadership Positions

In a Motion for Appointment of Plaintiff Leadership (PDF) filed on March 21, attorneys Paul Pennock, Parvin Aminolroaya, Jonathan Orent and Sarah Ruene seek to serve as co-lead counsel for plaintiffs in the litigation.

The group notes that “counsel in the vast majority of complaints on file” have reached an agreement on the proposed leadership structure. In addition to four attorneys serving as co-lead counsel, the letter also proposes the appointment of two liaison counsel, the establishment of a Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee and Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee.

The leadership appointments are likely to be discussed at a status conference hearing scheduled for April 18, according to a Notice of Hearing (PDF) issued by the Court on the March 21.

The lawyers selected for leadership positions will be tasked with coordinating status updates for the court, arguing certain pretrial motions, conducting discovery and depositions into common issues that impact all claims, and potentially negotiating a framework for GLP-1 RA injury settlements that may help resolve large numbers of claims. However, each individual plaintiff will still retain their own lawyer to meet various deadlines and establish that they meet the criteria for an Ozempic injury lawsuit payout.

In complex pharmaceutical litigation, where large numbers of claims are brought by users of the same medication or medical product, each experiencing the same or similar injuries, it is common for the U.S. JPML to centralize the litigation to reduce duplicative discovery into common issues that will arise in all claims, avoid conflicting pretrial rulings and to serve the convenience of certain witnesses and parties who will be required to testify in each of the lawsuits.

Following coordinated discovery and any bellwether trials scheduled in the MDL, if the parties are unable to agree to GLP-1 RA stomach paralysis settlements or another resolution for the Ozempic injury claims, each individual claim would later be remanded back to the U.S. District Court where it was originally filed for trial.