Information About Each Tylenol Autism, ADHD Injury Claim To Be Provided on Plaintiff Fact Sheets

With Johnson & Johnson and major retailers like Walmart and CVS facing a growing number of Tylenol injury claims brought by families of children diagnosed with autism and ADHD, the federal judge presiding over litigation has approved the use of a standardized Plaintiff Fact Sheet to gather information about the problems experienced by each of the children following exposure to acetaminophen during pregnancy.

More than 100 families of children with ADHD or autism from Tylenol are already pursuing lawsuits, and the size of the litigation is expected to increase dramatically over the coming months and years.

Each of the complaints raise similar allegations, indicating that drug makers have known for decades about the link between link between autism and Tylenol, as well as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other developmental problems. However, rather than warning about the acetaminophen risks for unborn children, plaintiffs claim that the drug has been promoted as safe for use by pregnant women.

Given common questions of fact and law over the adequacy of the Tylenol pregnancy warnings, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) established coordinated pretrial proceedings late last year, centralizing all lawsuits brought throughout the federal court system before U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in the Southern District of New York, as part of a federal multidistrict litigation (MDL).

Plaintiff Fact Sheets Required for Each Tylenol Autism & ADHD Lawsuit

On March 23, Judge Cote issued an order (PDF) calling for each claimant to complete a Plaintiff Fact Sheet (PFS), which are commonly used in complex mass tort litigation where large numbers of individuals are pursuing claims against the makers of the same product, involving similar injuries or claims.

The order calls for each current and future plaintiff to complete the court-approved form. Plaintiffs who have already filled out a Short Form Complaint will have 60 days from when the order was filed to complete and submit their PFS, and future plaintiffs will be required to complete the PFS within 60 days after they file their lawsuit in the MDL.

April 2023 Tylenol Lawsuit Update

While litigation continues to grow, Judge Cote has indicated the court will prioritize discovery and pretrial proceedings that examine the strength of the evidence that Tylenol causes autism and ADHD, and has appointed a special master to oversee discovery issues that arise.

In January, Judge Cote issued a court order detailing how the federal court will coordinate Tylenol lawsuit discovery proceedings with various state courts nationwide, where some families have filed their claims outside of the MDL.

As part of the coordinated pretrial proceedings, it is also expected that the court will establish a “bellwether” process where a small group of representative cases will be selected for early trial dates, to help gauge how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony that will be repeated throughout the litigation. However, if the parties fail to negotiate Tylenol autism settlements or another resolution for the litigation in the MDL, each family’s lawsuit may eventually be remanded back to different U.S. District Courts nationwide for future trial dates.