New Jersey Jury Awards $12.9 Million to Three Accutane Patients Who Developed Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Thu, Nov. 20, 2008
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - In another major courtroom verdict linking powerful acne medication Accutane with long-term inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), an eight-person jury in Atlantic City has found that pharmaceutical maker Hoffman-La Roche failed to provide adequate warning of the possible condition to three patients who began taking the drug as teenagers and shortly thereafter developed severe forms of IBD. The jury awarded compensatory damages of $12.89 million to be apportioned among the three individuals, now aged in their mid-to-late 20s.
The three plaintiffs are all Florida residents – Kelly Mace, 25, of Pensacola, along with Jordan Speisman, 27, of Gainesville, and Lance Sager, 28, of Ft. Lauderdale. All were first prescribed Accutane nearly a decade ago while still in their teens to relieve adolescent acne. All three succumbed to various forms of IBD, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, while taking Accutane or shortly thereafter. As a result of their disease, all suffer from a dramatically increased risk of colon cancer.
In reaching their verdict, jurors determined that Roche failed to adequately warn plaintiffs’ prescribing physician about the risk of IBD from Accutane, and that Accutane was a substantial factor in causing the Plaintiffs’ to develop IBD. The jury awarded Mr. Speisman approximately $8.64 million; Mr. Sager $2.62 million and Ms. Mace approximately $1.63 million.
“This is an important outcome and consistent with the recognition by the medical community that Accutane is a trigger for IBD,” said David Buchanan, a partner with Seeger Weiss in New York who served as co-counsel to the Plaintiffs at trial. ”We applaud the jury’s diligence and hope their verdict will finally break down the arrogance and stonewalling by Roche in denying Accutane’s role in the prolonged illness of so many patients who took the drug unaware of the extreme, prolonged effects it would have on their intestinal tract,” he added. He noted that Roche faces as many as 600 Accutane cases around the country
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ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - In another major courtroom verdict linking powerful acne medication Accutane with long-term inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), an eight-person jury in Atlantic City has found that pharmaceutical maker Hoffman-La Roche failed to provide adequate warning of the possible condition to three patients who began taking the drug as teenagers and shortly thereafter developed severe forms of IBD. The jury awarded compensatory damages of $12.89 million to be apportioned among the three individuals, now aged in their mid-to-late 20s.
The three plaintiffs are all Florida residents – Kelly Mace, 25, of Pensacola, along with Jordan Speisman, 27, of Gainesville, and Lance Sager, 28, of Ft. Lauderdale. All were first prescribed Accutane nearly a decade ago while still in their teens to relieve adolescent acne. All three succumbed to various forms of IBD, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, while taking Accutane or shortly thereafter. As a result of their disease, all suffer from a dramatically increased risk of colon cancer.
In reaching their verdict, jurors determined that Roche failed to adequately warn plaintiffs’ prescribing physician about the risk of IBD from Accutane, and that Accutane was a substantial factor in causing the Plaintiffs’ to develop IBD. The jury awarded Mr. Speisman approximately $8.64 million; Mr. Sager $2.62 million and Ms. Mace approximately $1.63 million.
“This is an important outcome and consistent with the recognition by the medical community that Accutane is a trigger for IBD,” said David Buchanan, a partner with Seeger Weiss in New York who served as co-counsel to the Plaintiffs at trial. ”We applaud the jury’s diligence and hope their verdict will finally break down the arrogance and stonewalling by Roche in denying Accutane’s role in the prolonged illness of so many patients who took the drug unaware of the extreme, prolonged effects it would have on their intestinal tract,” he added. He noted that Roche faces as many as 600 Accutane cases around the country
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