Cancer litigation continues to increase. It’s fertile ground – each year, 1.6 million Americans are diagnosed with cancer. Now, the first Actos bladder cancer trial produced a verdict for plaintiff. So far the post-verdict story appears mainly in plaintiff friendly versions – e.g. here. Some prior stories by Bloomberg are here, here and here. Plaintiff was represented by Michael J. Miller, Jeffrey A. Travers, Timothy Litzenburg and Nancy Guy Miller of The Miller Firm LLC. Takeda was represented by Sara J. Gourley and Catherine Valerio Barrad of Sidley Austin LLP, and Bruce R. Parker of Venable LLP.
The Actos verdict follows on Eli Lilly in January paying to settle claims that its DES caused breast cancer in four "DES daughters," meaning women who are daughters of mother’s who were prescribed DES. Verdicts also have been entered and affirmed in cases alleging that benzene caused forms of cancer, such as the Shelby verdict in California.
One take away point, among others. To date, asbestos litigation has produced much of the cancer litigation law (although DES "market share" cases created a subpart of the law). As more verdicts are entered and appealed in other types of cancer litigation, asbestos litigants may well exert less influence on the development of the law.
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