Accutane lawsuits can provide multi-million-dollar Accutane lawsuit verdicts for acne treatment victims

Swiss drug maker Roche Holding AG, known in America as Roche Pharmaceuticals and as Hoffmann LaRoche Inc., has made up to $1.2 billion in profits per year by selling defective acne treatment Accutane to millions of Americans. Now Roche is paying a price for its negligence via Accutane lawsuit actions, which are prevailing for plaintiffs with multi-million-dollar Accutane lawsuit verdicts.

So far, Roche has lost all six Accutane lawsuit cases which have gone to trial in America, with damages totaling $56 million awarded to victims. (Only one judgment, for $7.2 million, has been overturned by a Florida appeals court.) Clearly, plaintiffs are succeeding in bringing defective drug lawsuits against the maker of defective acne treatment Accutane.

On Feb. 16, 2010 a Superior Court jury in New Jersey -- home state of Roche's American operations -- awarded an Accutane victim more than $25 million in damages. In the Accutane lawsuit McCarrell v. Hoffmann LaRoche Inc., the jury found that Roche had violated New Jersey's consumer fraud law.

Victim Andrew McCarrell, 38, of Birmingham, AL, had suffered IBD, or inflammatory bowel disease, after taking Accutane in the mid 1990s. His IBD was so severe that he had to have his colon removed in the last of five surgeries to treat the problem. Clearly, an Accutane lawsuit was mandated.

In his original Accutane lawsuit, McCarrell had won a $2.62 million award from Roche in a 2007 verdict. When Roche got that verdict overturned on appeal, the case was retried, resulting in the far greater verdict in McCarrell's behalf. In the new Accutane lawsuit trial, the jury awarded the victim $159,000 for his medical expenses and $25 million in compensatory damages.

Such damages are awarded to compensate a victim for injury or loss. They can include actual damages, as for lost wages, as well as harder to measure damages, such as for pain and suffering.

In part due to these acne treatment side effects, Isotretinoin in Accutane has been available in the United States by prescription only. Also, it has had a tendency to be prescribed by physicians only as a last resort, when no other acne treatments or acne medications prove helpful.

New Jersey also allows punitive damages which, in effect, punish the defendant. But in this case only compensatory damages and medical expenses were provided.

In another case, also tried in New Jersey, plaintiff Kamie Kendall was awarded $10,578,500 in compensatory damages for Accutane injuries, which in her case involved the IBD known as UC or Ulcerative Colitis. Again, Roche lost due to its failure to warn the victim and her physician adequately about Accutane risks. Again, punitive damages were not awarded, but it's believed they will be in future cases.

Also, in November of 2008 a New Jersey state court jury awarded three men a total of $12.9 million for their Accutane acne treatment injuries.

Roche has argued in court that victims should have been aware of possible Accutane side effects and risks from taking the defective acne treatment, since the acne medication's packaging included a warning about possible IBD, or inflammatory bowel disease. However, juries have held that Accutane label warnings did not indicate the risks adequately.

Facing increasing setbacks in such Accutane lawsuits, Roche removed Accutane from the market in 2009. However, all Accutane legal actions based on injury to Accutane users may proceed in the American judicial system. In fact, hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against Roche for Accutane injury.

If you believe you have suffered an IBD or inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn's Disease or Ulcerative Colitis as a result of taking Accutane, you, too, can seek a jury award to compensate you for your loss. Alert an Accutane lawyer or defective drug lawyer by submitting the free case review form on this website or calling toll-free to 1-800-339-0606. A legal representative will respond promptly to help you assess your Accutane case and your prospects for an Accutane lawsuit. Accutane lawsuit attorney fees  customarily are not a factor until or unless you win your case in court.