Despite his years of suffering after taking Accutane, actor James Marshall lost his Accutane lawsuit when a New Jersey jury did not agree that his Accutane use conclusively caused his ulcerative colitis. So even though Marshall lost much work in the entertainment industry as a result of his condition, he was not compensated.
Marshall, 44, indicated under testimony that he’d suffered some intestinal problems before taking Accutane. But he also testified that he’d never suffered the extreme of rectal bleeding -- a sure sign of ulcerative colitis -- until a year after taking Accutane. (Marshall’s given name is Greenblatt, and the trial was named Greenblatt vs. Hoffman-La Roche.)
However, the same jury’s verdict in a trial involving three plaintiffs upheld the claim of Gillian Gaghan, 34. She received $2 million from the jury when it found that not only was Accutane to blame for her ulcerative colitis, but that she would not have taken the acne medication if she’d been alerted about its harmful Accutane side effects.
The jury determined that a third plaintiff, Kelley Andrews, 29, still would have used Accutane if its manufacturer, Hoffman-La Roche, had given her adequate warnings of its dangers. However, the jury did find that she became afflicted with Crohn’s disease (also known as Crohns disease) due to taking Accutane.
Thus, the trial of Greenblatt vs. Hoffman-La Roche ended with mixed messages for its plaintiffs, but one message for Accutane sufferers across America rang clearly: Accutane use can cause an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, and Accutane’s manufacturer bears a responsibility for its failure to alert potential patients fully about the acne drug’s harmful side effects.
It’s now been firmly established in the legal arena that Accutane can cause harmful gastrointestinal side effects. That leaves two key elements to be established in light of the Greenblatt trial.
First, would the plaintiff have used acne treatment Accutane even if the chance of its harmful side effects was conveyed fully to the patient and his or her physician? And second, did the plaintiff suffer gastrointestinal difficulties before taking the acne drug?
If the answer to each question is “no,” the plaintiff may have a strong case against Hoffman-La Roche, provided he or she did, in fact, take Accutane and did, in fact, suffer gastrointestinal problems as a result.
In short, the legal foundation has been laid for successful Accutane lawsuit actions.
If you or a loved one has suffered such an Accutane injury, alert the national attorney service of Accutane Lawsuit Lawyer.com. It can provide you with an experienced defective drug lawyer in states across the country who can fight for your legal right to economic compensation.