Jury Awards $6.5 Million in First Actos Bladder Cancer Trial

There few more harrowing experiences than contracting a life threatening illness by taking a medication that’s meant to help with a different illness.

Sadly, this is the reality for thousands of diabetics who took Actos for diabetes and ended up with bladder cancer.

In the first of more than 3,000 Actos bladder cancer lawsuits to go to trial, a jury has returned a $6.5 million verdict against Takeda Pharmaceuticals American Inc., after a diabetic took Actos and developed bladder cancer.

The jury in the case of Jack Cooper found Takeda failed to warn patients of the risk of bladder cancer. It also found Actos to be the cause of Mr. Cooper’s condition.

As a Virginia Beach personal injury attorney I find the circumstances of Mr. Cooper’s case highly disturbing.

He was prescribed Actos by a family physician and took it for four years. In 2011 he developed bladder cancer. The judge ordered that his trial be held first because he is gravely ill and is unlikely to survive another year.

The Actos case once again illustrated a big drug company that put profit before the wellbeing of patients. The jury heard evidence of a link between Actos and bladder cancer was known about by Takeda as long ago as in 2004 but it failed to disclose the risk for seven years.

Lawsuits are pending across the country over Actos. More than 1,200 are scheduled in Louisiana alone.

The Norfolk, VA based personal injury law firm, Cooper Hurley with client meeting locations in Virginia Beach and Hampton, handles automobile, truck, and motorcycle injuries as well as wrongful death, railroad injury cases and medical malpractice. Attorneys John Cooper and Jim Hurley have more than 40 years of combined experience in specializing in auto injury as well as other accident claims. Cooper Hurley represents people hurt in accidents in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News and throughout VA. Our motto is: “Your Injury. Our fight.” If you need help or advice about a serious injury, please call us at (757) 455 -0077 or contact us through this website.