Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Company face a recent Abilify drug side effects lawsuit adding to the growing number of lawsuits being filed against the companies for allegedly failing to warn patients of compulsive behavior side effects.

Plaintiff Earlene B. files the Abilify drug side effects lawsuit in Florida federal court, joining the current multidistrict litigation (MDL) against the company. The lawsuit was filed on May 29, 2018.

According to the Abilify drug side effects lawsuit, Earlene’s place of residence is the state of California. She says that she began ingesting Abilify from 2008 through 2015.

However, she alleges she suffered severe adverse effects and complications soon after taking Abilify that included compulsive and pathological gambling among other compulsive behaviors, the lawsuit states.

She says that she “suffered bodily injury and resulting pain and suffering, disability, mental anguish, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life, expense of medical care and treatment, loss of earnings, loss of ability to earn money and other economic losses, and aggravation of previously existing conditions,” the Abilify drug side effects lawsuit states.

The Abilify drug side effects lawsuit was filed on multiple counts including strict liability, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, negligence, negligence per se, negligent misrepresentation, violation of consumer protection laws, fraudulent concealment, and punitive damages.

Overview: Abilify Drug Side Effects

Earlene’s claims are filed as part of a large MDL centered on allegations that Abilify causes compulsive and pathological gambling side effects that had been known about since 2010 but were allegedly not mentioned on the drug’s warning labels until May 2016.

Abilify (aripiprazole) is an antipsychotic drug prescribed for treatment of conditions such as bipolar I disorder, manic depression, and schizophrenia. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Abilify in 2002.

Experts studying Abilify are not quite sure how the drug causes a person to develop compulsive behaviors. However, they do hypothesize that it may have to do with the drug’s effects on dopamine. The drug works by changing the actions of chemicals in the brain. The drug mimics the effects that dopamine has on the brain and that it influences the dopamine pathway of the brain. Scientific studies do understand that effects on dopamine pathways can change reward-seeking behavior in ways that that might explain compulsive behavior side effects.

Currently, there are more than a thousand pending lawsuits in the multidistrict litigation, in addition to about 100 more in state courts. Injuries being alleged include financial loss due to compulsive gambling side effects and other compulsive behaviors and emotional damages.

The Abilify lawsuits filed against the makers, Otsuka Pharmaceuticals and Bristol-Myers Squibb, accuse them of negligently making a drug that was defectively manufactured and designed. Other allegations accuse the companies of providing insufficient warning of the drug’s tendency to cause compulsive behavior side effects, in effect costing patients thousands of dollars.

If you or a loved one have experienced harmful compulsive behavior side effects causing physical, financial, and mental damages, you may be eligible to file an Abilify lawsuit that can help recover money lost to gambling, expenses for compulsive behavior side effects, and to restore quality of life.

The Abilify Drug Side Effects Lawsuit is Case No. 3:18-cv-01379-MCR-GRJ, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida; Pensacola Division. The Abilfy MDL, is In re: Abilify (Aripiprazole) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No 3:16-md-2734, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Pensacola Division.