Will Man's Levaquin Lawsuit Loss Affect Future Suits?
Calvin Christensen's recent Levaquin lawsuit has been lost, and this loss has many people wondering just what that will mean for future plaintiffs. Calvin's case was expected to set a precedent in future Levaquin trials; if that remains true, it has many people worrying that it will mean a lot more losses in the future.
He filed his suit against the makers of Levaquin, Johnson & Johnson, amid claims that he wasn't properly warned of the dangers in taking the drug. Levaquin has been proven to increase a patient's risk of developing tendon ruptures. Calvin developed tendon ruptures when he was taking the drug in 2006. His lawyers said that he never would have taken the drug if he knew beforehand that this injury was a possibility.
However, Calvin's own physician likely weighed the risk of tendon injury before he prescribed the drug to him. The defendant's lawyer said that the physician “read the label and he knew (of the risk).” He also said that the doctor gave the drug to Calvin regardless of the risk because he wanted to help get the man back home. Another thing that may have tipped the jury in the opposite direction is that they were given cause to believe that it might not have been the Levaquin alone that caused the tendon rupture since Calvin was also taking a steroid at the time. It was said that the combination of the two medications could have caused the tendon rupture and not just the Levaquin.
With the jury having heard about the possibility of another drug playing a role in Calvin's injury, they were compelled to rule in favor of Johnson & Johnson. This case will not likely set a precedent for future losses for plaintiffs since it is more likely that future plaintiff's won't have combination drugs be a factor. While it is possible that J&J's claims that doctors were given lengthy inserts about the warnings associated with Levaquin, not all doctors received the information. Future claimants can still win.
