Lawsuit Information Center
Mounjaro is a diabetes drug manufactured by Eli Lilly. Recently, Mounjaro (and similar drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy) have become widely used for weight loss and weight management in obese patients. New evidence has emerged, however, showing that using higher doses of Mounjaro for weight loss can cause serious health problems involving the gallbladder and the gastrointestinal system. Mounjaro use has been linked to gallbladder disease, gallstones, gastroparesis (stomach paralysis), and other stomach conditions.
Eli Lilly apparently knew about these dangerous risks associated with Mounjaro but failed to warn doctors and patients about them. Individuals who used Mounjaro and suffered some of these injuries are now bringing Mounjaro product liability lawsuits. The national mass tort lawyers at Miller & Zois are investigating new Mounjaro injury cases. If you took Mounjaro for weight loss and suffered gallbladder or gastrointestinal problems, contact us for a free case evaluation. Call us at 800-553-8082.
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UPDATES:
March 8, 2024: The first status conference in the new Mounjaro class action MDL in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has been scheduled for March 14, 2024. This conference will be the first opportunity for MDL Judge Gene E.K. Pratter to set the framework for how he is going to handle this litigation moving forward.
February 9, 2024: A new research study was released which further confirms that using GLP-1 receptor antagonist drugs like Mounjaro, Wegovy and Ozempic often results in significant gastrointestinal problems and digestive issues. The study found that these issues are much more common and more significant when patients use these drugs at higher doses for weight loss.
December 1, 2023: A group of plaintiffs filed a motion asking the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to consolidate all lawsuits related to Mounjaro, Ozempic and Wegovy to be consolidated into a new class action MDL. There are currently around 20 of these cases pending in federal courts across the country, but hundreds more are expected to be filed.
October 31, 2023: A Louisiana woman filed a lawsuit that that alleges that she faced severe gastrointestinal problems after using Ozempic, prior to using Mounjaro. Her contention primarily revolves around the adequacy of warnings given about potential severe symptoms. The drug manufacturer’s reference to the FDA-approved label for Mounjaro, which mentions potential severe gastrointestinal reactions, is also part of the dispute.
Her lawsuit points out that the medical literature describes the symptoms of gastroparesis and argues Eli Lilly had an obligation to warn her and her doctors of the risk of the drug.
Annoyingly, Lilly seems to argue that it is widely known in the medical community that drugs like Mounjaro can cause these complications. But why not put it on the label?
About Mounjaro
Mounjaro (tirzepatide), a product of Eli Lilly and Company, is a pioneering FDA-approved medication for type 2 diabetes treatment that targets both the GIP and GLP-1 receptors, receiving approval in May 2022.
These receptors are linked to GLP-1 and GIP hormones, which the intestines produce post-consumption and are crucial in blood sugar regulation. Specifically, GLP-1 triggers insulin release while suppressing glucagon release, whereas GIP stimulates the release of both insulin and glucagon. Mounjaro operates by simulating the actions of these hormones: promoting insulin release, constraining glucagon release, and decelerating food digestion, thereby reducing post-meal blood sugar spikes.
This admittedly innovative drug addresses the global demand for more potent and safe type 2 diabetes solutions, a prevalent disease marked by elevated blood sugar that can, over time, harm the body’s nerves, vessels, and organs. Clinical studies have indicated Mounjaro’s superior efficacy in blood sugar reduction compared to other diabetes treatments, including metformin and insulin.
Although Mounjaro was only approved as a diabetes drug, it became very popular among doctors for weight loss treatment and management in obese patients. This type of “off-label” use for weight loss also became popular for similar diabetes drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. The Mounjaro lawsuits our attorneys are focused on here will likely be primarily lawsuits where the drug was used for weight loss as opposed to diabetes.
Mounjaro Can Cause Gastrointestinal and Gallbladder Problems
A growing body of research has shown that using Mounjaro can cause severe gastrointestinal and gallbladder health conditions. The risk of this issue is exceptionally high when using Mounjaro for weight loss, which involves higher doses.
Mounjaro has been linked to the following health conditions, which can be very serious and even life-threatening.
Gastroparesis: Also known as “stomach paralysis,” a medical condition in which the muscles in the stomach stop moving normally. Individuals with gastroparesis experience a slowdown or complete failure of stomach motility, resulting in improper stomach emptying. This can be an excruciating and potentially serious condition that can lead to other internal complications.
Gastroenteritis This is an infection and inflammation in the digestive system that causes stomach cramps, diarrhea, and vomiting. The most concerning complication of gastroenteritis is dehydration.
Gallbladder Disease: Mounjaro and similar drugs have been linked to gallbladder disease. This involves chronic gallbladder inflammation and the development of gallstones and other problems. It can be very painful and, in some cases, require surgical removal of the gallbladder.
The FDA has released a prominent boxed warning concerning Mounjaro, highlighting its potential risk for gallbladder disease. This type of warning represents the highest level of alert provided by the FDA. So the failure to warn Mounjaro lawsuits will focus on claims where the injuries were before the warning was placed on the product.
Mounjaro Lawsuits
A growing number of Mounjaro product liability lawsuits are now being filed nationwide. These lawsuits are being filed by individuals who used Mounjaro for weight loss and subsequently suffered some of the gastrointestinal or gallbladder injuries described above.
The Mounjaro lawsuits are based primarily on failure to warn. They allege that Eli Lilly knew (or should have known) that regular use of Mounjar at higher doses could cause health problems like gastroparesis or gallbladder disease. Despite this knowledge, the lawsuits claim that Eli Lilly failed to include any warning about these particular risks on the drug label for Mounjaro. As a result, doctors and patients were unaware of this potential risk associated with Mounjaro.
Mounjaro Class Action Lawsuit
As of October 2023, there is not yet a Mounjaro “class action” or MDL. However, the Mounjaro lawsuits could potentially be consolidated into a class action MDL soon. The Ozempic lawsuits (a drug similar to Mounjaro) were recently consolidated into a new class action MDL. The allegations in the Ozempic cases are similar to those in the Mounjaro cases.
If a new Mounjaro class action MDL is created, all Mounjaro lawsuits pending in federal courts nationwide will be consolidated before a single judge. The consolidated cases will then go through a collective discovery phase. At the end of the discovery phase, a handful of representative cases will be selected from the group for trial. These are known as bellwether trials. The test trial results are supposed to give the parties an idea of what to expect if all the cases go to trial so that they can negotiate a global settlement.
Estimated Settlement Amounts for a Mounjaro Lawsuit
At this early stage, it is almost impossible to estimate the settlement value of Mounjaro lawsuits with any real accuracy. The biggest unknown is whether the scientific evidence behind these cases will hold up in court. That is always a big question in pharmaceutical cases like this.
So it has to be said that any estimated settlement amounts or jury payout for a Mounjaro lawsuit is highly speculative. But our lawyers can offer an educated guess as to the settlement value of these cases if we make several assumptions about how things will play out. Because people want to know what Mounjaro lawyers are thinking about settlement amounts. Are these cases thought to be worth $10,000 or $10 million. We are just trying to give you our take based on some speculative assumptions we are making.
With that preface, our attorneys believe that a successful Mounjaro lawsuit could have a settlement value range of $150,000 to $300,000. This is lower than our value estimate for the Ozempic lawsuits primarily because Mounjaro has been on the market for a shorter time. That means Mounjaro plaintiffs will have less exposure to the drug than Ozempic plaintiffs, making the Mounjaro cases somewhat weaker.
Hire a Lawyer for Your Mounjaro Lawsuit
If you think Mounjaro injured you and want to look into filing a Mounjaro lawsuit, the first thing you need to do is hire a lawyer. Contact our lawyers today at 800-553-8082 or contact us online.