Actos Blogpost
Victory!!! Yesterday, on April 26, 2013 Mr. Jack Cooper and his wife Nancy Cooper finally saw justice for the harm that was inflicted upon them by Mr. Cooper’s use of the drug Actos. After months of trial, countless hours of work and heart wrenching moments, the Miller Firm, LLC could not be more proud than to announce that an American jury has a returned a verdict in favor of our client for $6.5 million for the damages he and his wife have suffered at the hands of Takeda and its drug Actos. We are proud to have been able to serve Mr. Cooper and to finally see justice wrought against a pharmaceutical company that failed to warn of the relationship between its drug Actos and the development of bladder cancer. And though this is a moment for celebration, we all know too well of the many other clients we serve and the work we must still do to bring justice to them all.
Press Release: California Native Jack Cooper Vindicated in First Actos Trial
Los Angeles, California – Whether Takeda failed to warn patients about the association between the use of Actos and the development of bladder cancer was settled last Friday, April 26, 2013 by a jury of 12 Californians. That jury returned a verdict in favor of Mr. Cooper and his wife Nancy for $6.5 million for the damages they suffered as a result of their use of the drug Actos. The jury found that indeed, Takeda had failed to warn Mr. Cooper’s prescribing physician of the dangers and risks of Actos and that Takeda was liable as a result.
Mr. Miller, Senior Partner of the Miller Firm and one of Mr. Cooper’s attorneys said: “This verdict was a major victory for Mr. Cooper and a significant indicator of the potential liability Takeda will face in the future with respect to the thousands of other Actos cases pending in courts around the country, but getting Mr. Cooper his day in court, while he is still alive, was a very daunting challenge. Over 12 million pages had to be reviewed in a short time frame.
At trial, the Miller Firm introduced overwhelming evidence not only of the causal relationship between Actos and bladder cancer, but that Takeda had knowledge of this relationship as far back as the 1990s before Actos was approved for market. Many emails were proffered to the jury that not only indicated that Takeda had knowledge of this relationship for over a decade. For example, in one document, Takeda instructed sales representatives that unless bladder cancer was brought up to them, not to mention it at all and instead, “sell, sell, sell.” Mr. Miller added: “We feel that this verdict vindicates Jack’s assertions that Takeda knew of the risks of bladder cancer long before Jack began taking Actos and yet failed to inform prescribers of these risks. Nothing can undue the damage that has been inflicted on Jack as a result of his Actos consumption, but at the very least, this verdict does justice to those who harmed him.”
This is a sad story of profit winning out over patient safety. I also believe this verdict not only does justice for Mr. Cooper but also paves the way for future trials by illustrating clearly that Takeda knew of the risks of Actos and yet failed to warn of the risks of bladder cancer. The Miller Firm, LLC is dedicated to serving you with compassion and commitment. We provide our clients with a unique combination of legal and medical qualifications to best represent your interests in matters of injury due to medical negligence, defective drugs and faulty medical devices.
Contact
Michael J. Miller
The Miller Firm, LLC
The Sherman Building
108 Railroad Avenue
Orange, VA 22960
Toll free: (800) 882-2525
millerfirmllc.com
February 18, 2013
It begins tomorrow. Tomorrow, the first case in the United States –and the world for that matter— regarding Actos and the development of bladder cancer goes to trial. As we sit here in Los Angeles, polishing up the final touches to our case, we can’t help but think of how much we have done in so small an amount of time to prepare for this moment.
It was not even a year ago when we received the first batches of documents from Takeda. At that time last spring, we had only known about Actos’ link to bladder cancer through a number of public sources that strongly indicated a link between the use of Actos and the development of bladder cancer. But it was only when the court required Takeda to produce to us its internal documents and emails that we truly began to comprehend the full extent of Takeda’s knowledge. From those first few, we were immediately astonished and taken aback at the extent to which Takeda had known about the bladder cancer link and yet refused to inform physicians; and all the while continuing to market Actos as a safe and effective Type II diabetes drug.
Over the next several months as hundreds of thousands of more pages of internal documents came pouring in each week, the details of this case became all the more outraging. Night and day and through countless weekends, we continually pored over Takeda’s internal documents and emails, striving to piece together this story. Now, having scoured through the more than 16 million pages of internal documents Takeda has sent us to date, we are ready. We are ready to show America what Takeda has known for so long about Actos and bladder cancer; to detail to the public that Takeda knew about the bladder cancer link from the beginning and yet choose to downplay, ignore and even hide these facts from the public and their physicians while simultaneously instructing their sales representatives to “sell, sell, sell”.
Tomorrow, Mr. Jack Cooper’s case goes to trial. For him, his wife and their children it will be an opportunity to finally see justice done; and at this moment, we couldn’t feel more proud and humble for the opportunity to be the firm to represent him and to tell his story before an American jury. Tomorrow, we will finally bring this case before the average American citizen who will decide what justice should be demanded of Takeda. But as we sit here contemplating how far we have gone, we can’t help but think of how much farther we have go to. Not simply with respect to the six week battle that is to begin here tomorrow, but the battles that we must wage across the United States for each and every one of our clients. This case, each of our Actos cases, demands justice for the actions and knowledge Takeda had of the relationship between its drug Actos and the development of bladder cancer. Tomorrow, that first step begins here at the footsteps of the Los Angeles court house.
Pioglitazone is a prescription drug sold as “Actos” in the United States. Actos is used for the treatment of diabetes mellitus Type 2 and can also be used for diet or exercise programs. It is not used to treat Type 1 diabetes. Actos is in a class of medications called thiazolidinediones. It works by increasing the body’s sensitivity to insulin, a natural substance that helps control blood sugar levels.
Recent studies from the FDA and other sources have shown severe negative side effects from taking Actos. If you or a loved one is taking Actos, please read on for facts about the drug and the litigation surrounding it.
In 2007, the FDA requested that Actos boxes be given a black box label, the strongest FDA-requested label change that can be added to a drug, due to the risk of serious cardiovascular events caused by the drug. On June 16, 2011, the FDA required a label change for Actos because the drug, in users using for more than a year, causes a 40% increase in the risk for bladder cancer.
The Miller Firm LLC is taking on the country’s first Actos case has been set for trial in February 2013, with the Miller Firm representing the Plaintiff against the makers of Actos. The trial is set to commence on February 19, 2013 in the Los Angeles Superior Court. The Miller Firm continues to aggressively litigate these Actos cases on behalf of all their clients in jurisdictions including Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, New Mexico, Chicago, Milwaukee, Baltimore, and St. Louis.
If you have taken Actos and have had been diagnosed with bladder cancer or have had a serious cardiovascular event, find out how the Miller Firm LLC can help you. Fill out our case review form here on our website and submit it for a free consultation.