A group of 32 AndroGel lawsuits were chosen to be in a pool of cases that will ultimately be selected to be a part of a series of six bellwether trials that will begin between October 2016 and April 2017.

In the federal court system nationwide, there are more than 2,700 lawsuits pending that allege that testosterone manufacturers did not adequately warn consumers about the serious health risks potentially associated with the low-T drugs.

The health side effects claimed to be associated with testosterone use include heart attack, stroke, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE) and other injuries.

These AndroGel lawsuits are all a part of a larger multidistrict litigation (MDL) involving various testosterone products. Multidistrict litigation is a process where cases claiming similar allegations against similar products or defendants is streamlined to reduce duplication in discovery proceedings, allow more consistency of rulings and outcomes and reduce the amount of time spent overall in legal proceedings.

In this particular MDL, Judge Matthew Kennelly is presiding over the cases that are being held at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Multiple defendants are included in this MDL and include the makers of the testosterone drugs AndroGel, Testim, Axrion and other testosterone replacement therapy drugs, also known as low-T therapy.

The majority of the cases in the multidistrict litigation have been brought forth against AbbVie for their low-T drug, AndroGel. Judge Kennelly decided to have a separate bellwether trial pool just for the AndroGel trials. A second set of bellwether trials against other manufacturers are expected to take place after the AndroGel bellwether trials have occurred, most likely beginning in the second half of 2017.

In the AndroGel bellwether pool, there are 16 lawsuit each from the plantiffs’ side and the defense’s side that would be eligible for case-specific discovery. Each side selected eight claims relating to a blood clot injury and another eight claims related to heart injury. The complaints were chosen from a larger, randomly-selected pool of 100 AndroGel cases.

Although both sides submitted case lists to Judge Kennelly, attorneys representing AbbVie and former parent company Abbott Laboratories asserted in their proposal that they believe the Court should be responsible for selecting the 32 bellwether pool cases randomly.

The attorneys suggested that having the parties select the cases may result in “gamesmanship,” a process where the attorneys select cases they believe are most likely to win, rather than selecting the most representative cases for the MDL as a whole.

Testosterone Side Effects

Testosterone therapy is used by men to treat a condition called hypogonadism, a condition where the sex glands do not produce enough of the hormone testosterone. Men typically experience a decline in testosterone beginning at age thirty, and this decline can lead to reduced sexual function, reduced muscle and bone mass, low energy and fatigue.

To combat these low levels, testosterone supplementation may be used to help boost the hormone levels in the body. Supplementation can take the form of pills, injections, gel, cream, a skin patch, or implants below the surface of the skin.

Severe side effects have been reported with the use of testosterone therapy and include

• Blood clot or stroke
• Pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the lung)
• Deep vein thrombosis (a blood clot forms in the lower extremities and travels to the lung, often leading to pulmonary embolism)
• Heart attack and other heart injury

Testosterone Product Lawsuit Information

If you have suffered severe personal injury following the use of a testosterone product, you may have a legal claim. Our attorneys can provide you with a free consultation to review your case and assist you in determining your eligibility to file an individual lawsuit or to join the MDL in progress.