Plaintiffs Mary C. and Kenneth C. have filed an Abilify pathological gambling lawsuit in Florida federal court against the manufacturers of Abilify because of adverse effects and complications suffered. Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. have both been named in the lawsuit.

According to the Abilify lawsuit, adverse effects and complications suffered due to taking the medication mahy include compulsive gambling along with other compulsive behaviors.

The Abilify pathological gambling lawsuit states that the plaintiff’s place of residence was the state of Colorado.

According to the Abilify pathological gambling lawsuit, the plaintiff took Abilify from approximately 2008 until 2015.

The Abilify pathological gambling lawsuit states that the “plaintiff experienced compulsive behaviors, including pathological gambling, causing plaintiff to suffer bodily injury resulting in pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life, medical expenses, and economic loss.”

The plaintiff also files the following counts against the defendants: 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; 9) Loss of Consortium; 10) Punitive Damages.

The plaintiffs’ claims are filed as part of a large multidistrict litigation, or MDL, centered on allegations that the drug causes compulsive behaviors. This is a correlation that had been known about since 2010 but was only required to be added on the drug’s warning labels in May 2016.

Abilify Drug Facts

Abilify, also known as aripiprazole, is an antipsychotic medication prescribed for the treatment of conditions such as bipolar I disorder, manic depression, and schizophrenia.

The allegations being purported against the drug’s manufacturers, Bristol-Myers and Otsuka, is that they had failed to warn consumers of compulsive behaviors that may result due to taking the medication.

And, additionally, allegations purport that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had only approved the drug in 2002, but the addition of these side effects and complications were placed on the warning label of Abilify in May 2016, even though clinical studies had been conducted concluding of these compulsive behavior side effects since 2010.

How Does Abilify Cause Compulsive Behaviors?

Although experts who have been studying the drug’s adverse effects are not exactly sure how the drug causes a person to develop compulsive behaviors, they hypothesize that it may have to do with the drug’s effects on the neurotransmitter dopamine.

According to studies, the drug works by changing the action of chemicals in the brain. They believe that they drug changes the effects that dopamine has on the brain and influences the dopamine pathway of the brain.

Scientific studies have acknowledged that these types of influences on dopamine pathways in the brain affect reward-seeking behavior, which would explain compulsive behaviors.

The Abilify Pathological Gambling Lawsuit is Case No. 3:17-cv-00789-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.