An Oklahoma plaintiff, Mary T., has filed a products liability lawsuit in Florida federal court against the manufacturers of Abilify, a prescription medication to treat bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and Tourette’s Syndrome.

According to the Abilify gambling lawsuit, she has named Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka America Pharmaceuticals Inc. as defendants.

Mary alleges that she began taking Abiligy in 2013 and stopped use in 2015. According to the lawsuit, Mary “experienced compulsive behaviors, including pathological gambling.” The lawsuit contends that she suffered “bodily injury resulting in pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life, medical expenses, and economic loss.”

The defendants face allegations of the following counts: 1) Strict Liability, 2) Breach of Express Warranty, 3) Breach of Implied Warranty, 4) Negligence, 5) Negligence Per Se, 6) Negligent Misrepresentation, 7) Violation of Consumer Protection Laws, 8) Fraudulent Concealment, and 9) Punitive Damages.

Mary’s claim is filed as part of a large multidistrict litigation, or MDL, centered on allegations that Abilify causes serious compulsive behaviors such as compulsive gambling, binge eating, and compulsive urges to have sex and shop.

Abilify Gambling Lawsuit Facts

Ever since hitting the market in 2002, Abilify’s manufacturers have faced lawsuits from the U.S. Department of Justice, 42 states and the District of Columbia, and individual patients alleging that the prescription medication causes compulsive gambling, binge eating and hypersexual behavior.

Although drug manufacturing companies have an obligation and responsibility to inform patients, the public, and medical community of the side effects of the drugs they manufacture, at times these warnings come too late.

Plaintiffs in these lawsuits allege that there were insufficient and inadequate warnings that have led to tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs. This is what allegedly led them into filing product liability claims against the defendants.

One count against Otsuka and Bristol-Myers Squibb is that they were negligent in creating a prescription medication that was defectively designed and manufactured. In addition, allegations against the companies include knowledge of these adverse side effects in causing compulsive behavior, but failure to adequately warn prospective patients and the public of these risks.

In filing an Abilify gambling lawsuit, the plaintiff hopes to recover expenses due to compulsive gambling. In addition, she hopes to recover money lost to gambling, restore quality of life and gain compensation for injuries suffered.

In 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported on side effects of Abilify, including compulsive urges to gamble, eat, have sex, and shop. These were all reported by the FDA and since the announcements, product liability litigations started to surge alleging the manufacturers of being responsible for these alleged adverse side effects.

In addition, between 2002 and 2016, the FDA identified 184 cases in which there have been an alleged correlation between patients taking Abilify and those suffereing from impulsive behaviors. Moreover, of these cases, the most common side effect was the pathological gambling compulsive behavior in which 164 cases were reported.

The Abilify Gambling Lawsuit is Case No. 3:17-cv-00684-MCR-GRJ and is part of the Abilfy MDL, 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.