A Florida resident has filed a testosterone product lawsuit against the pharmaceutical manufacturer AbbVie Inc. and its subsidiary Abbot Laboratories Inc., alleging that he sustained bodily injuries from his use of their AndroGel product.

Plaintiff Christopher F. Luiso was prescribed AndroGel in June 2010 to manage his low testosterone levels and continued to use the testosterone product as directed until September of the same year.

During the months that he used AndroGel, Luiso alleges his “consumption of AndroGel caused physical and emotional impairment beginning in or about September 2010, which affected his personal and professional life,” he explains in his Androgel lawsuit.

The damages Luiso has allegedly sustained from his use of AndroGel include, but are not limited to, mesenteric vein thrombosis and portal vein thrombosis, conditions which have made it necessary for the plaintiff to seek additional treatment, such as a small bowel resection.

These injuries are not uncommon in patients who have taken testosterone products and suffered testosterone product side effects as a result, the testosterone product lawsuit claims. One of the major side effects of taking testosterone products, that many testosterone allegedly manufacturers fail to mention or minimize the severity of the risk when marketing to their customers, is the increased risk of blood clots, like the thrombosis allegedly developed by Luiso.

In this AndroGel testosterone product lawsuit, Luiso alleges that AbbVie Inc. and its subsidiaries have violated strict product liability, failed to warn its consumers of all risks, designed a defective product, and as a result, he also charges them with negligence, breach of implied and expressed warranty, fraud, and negligent misrepresentation, among other allegations.

Luiso is seeking relief in the form of compensation for general damages, special damages, lost earnings, medical expenses, emotional and mental trauma, punitive damages, restitution, attorney’s fees, and other forms of compensation as so decided by the court.

The AndroGel Testosterone Product Lawsuit is Luiso v. AbbVie Inc., et al., Case No. 9:14-cv-80828, in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Florida.

History of Testosterone Products

In 1999, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved AndroGel and other testosterone products manufactured by AbbVie as an acceptable treatment medication for low testosterone (or low-t) conditions resulting from hypogonadism.

Hypogonadism is a common condition experienced by men as they age when the body begins to naturally decrease the amount of testosterone produced for use by the male body. As a result of a low-t condition, a man may experience weight gain, loss of muscle mass, and a decreased sex drive. Middle aged men with low-t conditions have become a niche market for companies like AbbVie to offer testosterone products, like AndroGel, to treat the side effects of hypogonadism.

Testosterone Product Side Effects

Although AngroGel and other testosterone products offer a whole host of potential benefits for male consumers, AndroGel, Axiron, and other brand name testosterone products and testosterone injections also carry their own set of risks and side effects. These serious testosterone product side effects include:

• Blood clot
• Enlarged prostrate
• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Death

There have also been reports of spouses and children of AndoGel users allegedly experiencing secondary exposure to the testosterone in these products.

In light of these reports, “In 2009 the FDA issued a black box warning for testosterone prescriptions, advising patients of reported virilization in children who were secondarily exposed to the gel. Testosterone may also cause physical changes in women exposed to the drug and cause fetal damage with pregnant women who come into secondary contact with testosterone.”

Luiso is not the only individual to pursue litigation against a testosterone product manufacturer like AbbVie. Several men and their families are pursuing Androgel lawsuits, testosterone product lawsuits, and some may even join testosterone product class action lawsuits.