In a recent development in the Cymbalta withdrawal symptoms litigation movement, Eli Lilly & Co. was ordered to face claims of deliberately misleading consumers about “brain zaps” and other severe side effects associated with withdrawal.

These are the first cases of their kind to be heard by juries. Previously, Eli Lilly had tried to dismiss these Cymbalta lawsuits but had been stopped by a federal judge in California, who found that there was legitimate concern in Cymbalta’s insufficient warnings.

Presiding U.S. District Judge Steven Wilson in Los Angeles made this decision on June 19, 2015, and has set the first two trial dates in his court for August 2015. It is important to note that this ruling has come during the same month as Eli Lilly experienced its shares to rise more than any other company in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, after the company denied its plan to spin off its animal health unit. Eli Lilly had been recovering from a low point in sales in 2014 until recently, due to losing exclusivity rights to some of its most popular medications Zyprexa and Cymbalta itself, which is reportedly the company’s best-selling drug.

Now with the Cymbalta lawsuits moving forward, a selected jury will decide whether or not Eli Lilly deliberately hid the true risks and severity of withdrawal symptoms in Cymbalta studies to “under-report the risk of discontinuation symptoms.”

Currently, Eli Lilly is facing more than 5,000 Cymbalta withdrawal lawsuits which allege the company deliberately downplayed the severity of their antidepressant’s withdrawal symptoms, which reportedly start soon after ending their Cymbalta prescription.

Overview of Cymbalta Withdrawal Complications

Cymbalta (Duloxetine) is a part of the special antidepressant class called serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), which work by stabilizing different chemicals in the brain to insure mood stability. Manufactured and marketed by Eli Lilly, Cymbalta is often prescribed to treat major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. It is also approved to treat nerve pain associated with different conditions like diabetes and fibromyalgia.

Cymbalta is Eli Lilly’s best-selling drug and has brought successful results to many patients. However, it has been recently alleged that Cymbalta may have inflicted as much harm as much good as it brought.

Some of the drug side effects include these electrical-shock sensations, called “brain zaps,” which patients feel and soon after feel nausea, vomiting, and insomnia. Some of the most minor cases only last a week or two, but the most severe cases can last up to months. Studies show that between 50 to 78 percent of Cymbalta patients experience these withdrawal symptoms after stopping the drug.

Despite this statistic and numerous injury reports to back it up, Eli Lilly reportedly stated that only 1 to 2 percent of patients suffer these side effects, according to the Cymbalta label. After numerous injury reports were submitted to the FDA, experts designated a diagnosis for patients suffering withdrawal symptoms after taking Cymbalta, called Cymbalta Discontinuation Syndrome. This problem became so apparent that in 2009, the FDA sent out a warning explaining that Cymbalta withdrawal symptoms were more common than stated on the drug’s label.

Despite these serious allegations, Eli Lilly representatives are confident that they will win the legal battles and will continue to defend itself against the litigation.

This Cymbalta Withdrawal Lawsuit is Case No. 13-cv-02702, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.