First Chantix Suicide Settlement Reached Before Lawsuit Trial

Mark Alan Whitely’s widow filed a Chantix lawsuit against Pfizer following his November 2007 suicide, claiming the company failed to provide adequate warnings of an elevated side effect risk of suicide attempts. The Whitely Chantix lawsuit initiated over 2,500 pending Chantix suicide lawsuits in Alabama’s federal court, as stated in court records.

Chantix lawsuits, including the Whitely case have been consolidated into a Chantix lawsuit MDL in Alabama, and turned over to Johnson for the purpose of gathering evidence for the pre-trial and for the first trials.

Risk of Chantix Suicide as a Potential Side Effect

According to the Chantix lawsuits, side effects of Chantix include psychiatric disorders such as depression that are so intense that it may lead patients to attempt suicide or even actually commit suicide. According to the plaintiffs, Pfizer was well aware of the association between Chantix and suicide, but neglected to provide sufficient and adequate warnings of the side effect risks.

Pfizer was in denial regarding Chantix’s cause of Whitely’s suicide or that the company failed to disclose all information pertaining to the drug. Judge Johnson said that Pfizer did provide precautionary information on reports of suicidal thoughts on Chantix’s package inserts. Johnson stated this on July court papers. In 2007 and 2008, an update was issued, eventually leading to a 2009 black box warning placement on the package insert. The Chantix lawyers representing the plaintiffs argue that such warnings came too late and should have been provided earlier. The family’s Chantix lawsuit attorney went on to say that it was his opinion that the settlement of the Whitely Chantix lawsuit was not a sign of rushing to settle the Chantix lawsuits in consolidation in federal court before Johnson, in Florence, Alabama.

Chantix Lawsuit Settlement Offers

The Whitely family Chantix lawsuit stated that even though he represents nearly 400 families filing Chantix lawsuits, he has gotten no offers for claim settlements up to this point. The Chantix attorney stated that January is the time for the next set of four Chantix lawsuit bellwether trials pertaining to Chantix suicide lawsuits in Alabama. The date has been set by Judge Johnson. Northern District of Alabama, U.S. District Court is the location for the MDL case 2092, 09-cv-2039. The consolidation Chantix lawsuits are named In re Chantix Products Liability Litigation MDL.

Potential Chantix Side Effects

Chantix has been associated with a number of side effects. These include the following:

* Changes in behavior
* Adverse behaviors including aggression,
* Psychological problems
* Depression
* Suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts
* Blackouts
* Heart Attacks
* Develop Stevens-Johnson Syndrome
* Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis
* Additional cardiovascular problems