There have been a lot more personal injury lawyers airing commercials about Accutane being linked to Inflammatory Bowel Disease. This perked my interest so I hopped online to find out what was going on. There are quite a few lawyers out there offering their services for pursuing legal action against Roche Holdings(creator of Accutane). Some of these lawyers though are incorrectly stating that Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Inflammatory Bowel Disease(Crohn’s/Ulcerative Colitis) are the same thing. They are not & Irritable Bowel Syndrome is not what these lawsuits are about.
Accutane has been studied for possible links to Inflammatory Bowel Disease as far back as 2001. Also non-public internal documents from Roche Holdings suggests that Accutane damages the intestinal tract & that physicians who were prescribing Accutane also noted a higher risk for Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Accutane was “discontinued” by Roche Holdings in 2009, though the generic form is still available under the name Isotretinoin. Roche Holdings claims removing Accutane from market was not due to the lawsuits or concerns over safety.
Accutane has always been a very powerful substance. Even before this link to Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Accutane had warnings for women who were pregnant since it can cause birth defects. It has also been indicated as a cause of depression.
The first Accutane lawsuit ended in 2007. The lawsuit found Roche Holdings liable for failing to label the drug correctly & awarded plaintiff Andrew McCarrell $2.62 million dollars. Roche Holdings appealed this judgement & the case was re-tried in 2010. The re-trial ended and again with Roche holdings found liable, but this time Mr. McCarrel was awarded over $25 million dollars.
Since 2007 then there have been other lawsuits that have come to completion & the outlook is not looking good for Roche Holdings. Although one judgment was overturned on appeal, there are hundreds more lawsuits on the way.
Most of the people who have won awards have been severely affected by Inflammatory Bowel Disease, needing parts of their lower digestive tract removed. Due to the large quantity of people who are filing for lawsuits, I am wondering if this may turn into a class action lawsuit, though the award settlements usually amounts to far less when dealing with class-action style lawsuits.
Are you someone who is pursuing legal action against Roche Holdings or are you a lawyer representing something who is? Please comment below and let us know your story.
Hi, great post!
I’m a lawyer representing a number of persons with bowel problems resulting from Accutane use.
There have been over 1,000 Accutane lawsuits filed against Roche, the manufacturer of Accutane, as well as lawsuits filed against makers of generic Accutane (isotretinoin).
Six cases have resulted in jury verdicts (including the two jury verdicts you mentioned for Andrew McCarrell), and all six have been large victories against Roche. Roche has appealed all of them. Our team has been involved with all of these trials.
Most of the Accutane cases are pending in New Jersey and have not been certified as a class action. They are all separate cases. We’ll see if Roche continues to take them to trial, as their track record at trial has not been very good.
Of course, Roche denies any liability despite the scientific and medical evidence linking Accutane to bowel conditions. It would cost them too much money to admit there is a problem, so even when lawsuits are settled it is under a confidentiality agreement and the company makes no admission of liability.
Interestingly, when Roche took Accutane off the market (in the U.S. and certain other countries) in 2009, it released a press release that did say that it was “faced with high costs from personal-injury lawsuits”. This suggests that the lawsuits were a factor in its decision to withdraw Accutane — otherwise, why mention it?
Accutane is a very powerful drug that, unfortunately, was prescribed in many cases involving only mild or moderate acne. There were strong warnings on the label for many different conditions, but bowel problems were not among those warnings. That is why most of the Accutane lawsuits involve inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
It is sad to see so many people whose lives have been turned upside down by IBD as a result of taking Accutane.
Many people that go on accutane have to try taking antibiotics first to see they will clear up the acne. Sometimes patients can be on antibiotics for years. Does this long term use of antibiotics play a role in accutane’s effects on the digestive system? Do they antibiotics leave the digestive system compromised before patients even start the accutane? Do you know of any related medical studies Also, for patients already on accutance is there anything they can do,such as diet, to help prevent IBD and Crohn’s Disease?
I am not aware of any studies that suggest antibiotic usage before taking Accutane was the cause of a person’s Crohn’s disease. I don’t believe it’s really even known why Accutane causes Crohn’s besides it being hard on the digestive tract and being a very powerful drug. Branded Accutane has been removed from the market, Isotretinoin generic is still probably available. There are diets you can try, that can help with digestive issues such as IBS or IBD, but they aren’t guaranteed to cure or improve IBD and no one knows if they can prevent it, but you might try checking them out.
To date, over 2,500 cases have been filed in New Jersey as a part of the Accutane Mass Tort Litigation against the manufacturers of Accutane and generic isotretinoin. If you believe you have developed Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn’s disease as a result of taking Accutane or generic isotretinoin, please visit http://www.vamasstortlawyers.com for more information about your legal rights.
hi, my name is Luis and I took Accutane as result my intestine hurts so much that i wake up at night with severe pain on my intestine. and its been 5 or 6 years that have diarrhea. So I went to the doctor and he told me that the problem is in my intestine. i thinking about suing Roche for what i have.
Perhaps you might want to get in contact with one of the two law offices that posted here or look for a local law office that works with personal injury claims. You will also want to get an exact diagnosis from your doctor to determine if you do have Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis or something else.
Hi, my name is Tilda and I took Accutane for over 11 years. The doctors just kept perscribing it. You know I was so trusting of those doctors, and in the end look what it has done for me — it has given me ulcerative colitis, crohn’s disease, inflammatory bowel s, I even had to have my leg amputated because the pain was so bad in the joints. I am filing a lawsuit as soon as I can.
@Tilda, I am so sorry to hear of the pain you’ve gone through. I would definitely try to find a lawyer ASAP as the legal process is usually slow… Perhaps you might want to check out Advocacy For Patients With Chronic Illness @ http://www.advocacyforpatients.org/
I am Canadian. There is currently a class action being launched by the Merchant Law group against Roch for accutane use. they have about 1100 in the class so far. Unfortunately my son took a generic form sold in canada by prempharm called Clarus.
Are there people out there who took Clarus and now suffer from IBD? Maybe if enough people respond The Merchant Law Group might agree to expand the class to generic users. If you are out there send me an email debbelanger@rogers.com
What about GERD and Globus Hystericus? Around about my 6th and final month into taking accutane, I developed acid reflux, and started to feel like my throat had a ball in it. My throat was extremely dry and would sometimes click when I swallowed. I have been on every drug, changed my diet, etc., but two years later, no relief. I have seen online that MANY people complaining of this as well. Is there any resource or assistance with the other types of damage this drug can do and any legal assistance for that? I never had ANY issues until taking this drug. PS your acne will come back after a few months, lol.
Thanks
Does anyone know if there is a link between Accutane and gastroparesis? Are there any cases of this currently in litigation?
Hi Bonnie! My 16 year old son just returned home today from a 5 day stay in the hospital for gastroparesis. He was put on Accutane about a year ago for 6 months. I am wondering if there are other people as well who have taken Accutane and wound up with gastroparesis. I would appreciate hearing from others who feel there is a link between the two. My son has always been the epitome of health up until two weeks ago. Looking back throughout the year however, what I thought was a stomach bug from time to time turned out to be something very different. Thank you for your help in either alleviating my worries that there’s no connection or help me to see that there is one. Thank you! Julie Toliver
Thanks for posting Julie, sorry to hear about your son’s illness with Gastroparesis. At this time I am not aware of any known studies or lawsuits that link Accutane to Gastroparesis. Gastroparesis hasn’t been very well studied, so it’s not surprising that there hasn’t been much research on if Accutane causes Gastroparesis.
I’ll keep my eyes on the lookout for any such information though.
Bonnie & Julie,I am very interested in discussing my past complications due to what I believe was Accutane.Which I only took for 6 months in 2000.I had a gastric pacemaker placed in 2006 due to severe gastroparesis and bouts of accute pancreatitis.I am living much better now but the device only helps not cures.I have also seen the lawsuits for accutane and feel because they have no idea what problems accutane can cause they just dismiss any claims that aren’t supported by enough people.I would think they would rather address all medical concerns with a few patients before it was administered to thousands.Please contact me.I have been trying to link my problems to accutane for over 11 yrs.she.redden@gmail.com
I’m so very sorry to hear this S. Redden. I can’t help but wonder this very thing myself. Since my last posting, we have continued to be in and out of the hospital, and we are going back tomorrow, because he is still throwing up. I will try to get in touch with you soon, and again, I am so sorry to hear you have dealt so long with this wicked gastroparesis! It’s a nightmare.
i also have severe, debilitating gastroparesis and i took accutane while i was in high school. however, there was about a 5 year gap between the two – i didn’t get GP until after college. i wonder though if they could be related.
It is so strange to hear of all your stories. I have just been diagnosed with gastroparesis, I am convinced it has been brought on by accutane.
It was November 2009 I had a very bad infection on my chin that no antibiotic cream/pills would shift. I was then sent to a dermatologist who suggested accutane. I read through the hundreds of side effects but still chose to go on it. I only had it for 4-5 months. August 2010 I began getting awful pains in chest etc. After multiple hospital admissions and test after test a year later I was diagnosed with Gastroparesis.
I have alwas been a fit and healthy teenager ad never suffered from any condition. My consultant says it is unusual to get Gastroparesis when you are my age and don’t have diabetes. He is looking into the accutane link!!!
Please help if I have a case against Accutane!