Two Seroquel Lawsuits Tossed Out of Court on Procedural Glitches

A Florida federal court judge has dismissed two lawsuits brought by two former users of the popular antipsychotic drug Seroquel who claimed the drug caused them to develop diabetes, gain weight, and suffer other health problems.

U.S. District Judge Anne Conway ruled that the plaintiffs, Linda Guinn and David Haller, had failed to properly prepare their lawsuits for trial, which was set to begin Feb. 2. Their attorney vowed to appeal the dismissal of the suits. Guinn was seeking almost $54 million in damages in her lawsuit.

Seroquel’s maker, pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, still faces about 9,000 personal-injury lawsuits filed in the United States by more than 15,000 plaintiffs who allege they were injured by the drug. While the company heralded the two dismissals as a victory, the judge did provide plaintiffs with some potentially valuable ammunition in the thousands of remaining cases filed against Seroquel.

Ammunition for Future Lawsuits?

Before dismissing the two Florida cases on unrelated procedural grounds, the judge ruled that people who took Seroquel can argue in court that the drug contributed to the development of their diabetes. The judge’s approval of that legal theory could prove valuable to people seeking damages relating to Seroquel in the future, legal experts said.

It is otherwise unclear how the dismissal of the two lawsuits will affect other cases pending against AstraZeneca over alleged Seroquel injuries. Attorneys for Guinn and Haller had argued that AstraZeneca knew that Seroquel could lead to diabetes as early as 2000, but failed to warn doctors or patients.

AstraZeneca contends that it provided sufficiently clear warnings on Seroquel’s labeling to alert physicians and people taking the drug about the potential problems. The company vows to vigorously fight all future lawsuits relating to allegations of Seroquel injuries.

FDA Has Warned of Dangers

Seroquel belongs to a newer class of antipsychotic drugs, including Eli Lilly & Co.’s Zyprexa and Johnson & Johnson’s Risperdal. Studies have shown the drugs can cause an increased risk of diabetes. In 2003, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration required AstraZeneca and other drug companies to warn doctors and users about the severe health risks associated with the class of drugs.

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