Lawsuit Information Center
Our national mass tort lawyers are currently seeking and investigating Wegovy lawsuits for individuals who used Wegovy and subsequently developed gastroparesis or related health conditions.’
Wegovy (semaglutide) is the brand name of a prescription drug that is used for weight loss and weight management. Wegovy has been around awhile, but recent studies have found that prolonged use of this drug can significantly increase the risk of developing gastroparesis.
Until recently, the drug label for Wegovy did not contain any warning about the potential risk of gastroparesis. This has prompted a wave of product liability lawsuits alleging that the drug maker negligently failed to warn. Anyone who suffered gastroparesis after using Wegovy may be able to file a Wegovy lawsuit and get financial compensation.
Wegovy
Wegovy (semaglutide) is a prescription drug that’s used for weight loss in certain people who suffer from significant obesity. Wegovy comes as a liquid solution in a single dose pen that is taken by injection under the skin. Wegovy is part of a family of drugs called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists.
Wegovy is manufactured by a European pharmaceutical company called Novo Nordisk, which focuses primarily on the development and sale of diabetes drugs. The active compound in Wegovy (semaglutide) was originally developed and patented by Novo Nordisk back in 2012.
Novo Nordisk heavily marketed Wegovy and its related drug, Ozempic, spending substantial amounts on advertising and promotional activities, including providing meals and travel for doctors. This led to widespread use and high prescription rates.
Medical literature and clinical trials had already indicated that GLP-1 receptor agonists like semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy, could slow gastric emptying and cause gastrointestinal issues such as nausea, vomiting, and gastroparesis. Despite this, Novo Nordisk continued to promote these drugs vigorously.
Studies and trials funded by Novo Nordisk and other sources highlighted these risks, with significant adverse gastrointestinal events leading to high discontinuation rates among patients. Critics argue that the company should focus more on researching the drugs’ long-term safety rather than aggressive marketing strategies.
Novo Nordisk has successfully gained approval from federal regulators for Wegovy, a weight management adaptation of the diabetes medication Ozempic, to serve as a preventative measure against cardiovascular diseases like strokes, heart attacks, and heart disease resulting from obesity. On March 8, 2024, the FDA announced the endorsement of Wegovy for combating cardiovascular conditions associated with obesity. The FDA recommends that the drug be administered alongside a diet with fewer calories and increased physical activity.
Studies Link Wegovy to Problems
Over the last 6 years, a growing body of scientific research and clinical studies have shown that using Wegovy can lead to serious gallbladder problems such as gallstones and gallbladder disease. The first study connecting semaglutide to gallbladder disease was published back in 2017 in the journal Diabetes, Obesity & Metabolism. Although this was the first published study identifying a link between semaglutide and gallbladder disease, it is believed that Novo Nordisk knew about the risk much earlier.
The 2017 study did not draw significant attention. However, in 2022 a research letter on the subject was published in JAMA Internal Medicine, a very prominent medical journal. The letter spelled out in very clear detail how users of Ozempic and Wegovy displayed significantly higher rates of gallstones and gallbladder disease. Moreover, the conclusions in the research letter were based on data collected by the FDA.
An October 2022 study analyzed 5,442 adverse gastrointestinal events related to GLP-1RAs. Of these, 32% were serious, including 40 deaths, 53 life-threatening conditions, and 772 hospitalizations. The main issues reported were nausea and vomiting, along with events related to impaired gastric emptying.
Scientists do not fully understand exactly why Wegovy causes stomach problems. One theory is that Wegovy prompts the gallbladder to overproduce bile, which leads to gallstones.
Gastroparesis
Most Wegovy lawsuits involve gastroparesis. This is is a medical condition where the stomach’s ability to empty its contents into the small intestine is delayed without any physical blockage, disrupting normal digestion.
This condition can be caused by various factors, including diabetes, which can damage the vagus nerve controlling stomach muscles; surgeries on the stomach or digestive tract affecting nerves and muscles; certain medications like narcotics, antidepressants and this class of drugs; and other medical conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and hypothyroidism.
Common symptoms of gastroparesis include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, bloating, early satiety, unintended weight loss, acid reflux, and erratic blood glucose levels, particularly in diabetic patients. Diagnosing gastroparesis involves tests such as gastric emptying studies, upper endoscopy, ultrasound, and blood tests to rule out other conditions and assess underlying metabolic disorders.
Treatment focuses on managing symptoms and underlying causes through dietary changes like eating smaller, more frequent meals and avoiding high-fat and high-fiber foods, medications that stimulate stomach muscle contractions or reduce nausea, and blood sugar management for diabetic patients. In severe cases, gastric electrical stimulation or surgical interventions may be considered.
Complications from untreated gastroparesis can be brutal for victims. They include severe dehydration and malnutrition due to prolonged vomiting, bezoars (hardened masses of undigested food causing blockages), unpredictable blood sugar levels in diabetics, and a decreased quality of life from chronic symptoms.
Wegovy Gastroparesis Lawsuits
When Wegovy (and prior to that Ozempic) was initially released in the U.S., the drug product information label said nothing about an increased risk of stomach issues. Doctors and patients had no knowledge of this potentially serious risk. It was not until March 2022 that Novo Nordisk formally amended the label for Wegovy to add a warning about the risk of gallbladder disease.
Individuals who used Wegovy prior to March 2022 when the new warning label was added and subsequently developed gallbladder problems could potentially bring a product liability lawsuit for negligent failure to warn. A growing number of Wegovy users have already filed lawsuits against Novo Nordisk for failing to warn about the risks of gastroparesis.
Wegovy Class Action Lawsuit
All Wegovy lawsuits have been consolidated into a class action MDL. there will be a consolidated discovery process, followed by bellwether test trials. The results of the test trials will be used to push Novo Nordisk towards a global settlement.
The Core Claim in Any Wegovy Lawsuit
The Wegovy claims again Novo Nordisk will focus on the company’s failure to adequately warn users and healthcare providers about the risk of gastroparesis, a condition characterized by delayed stomach emptying. Key points of the claim include:
- Insufficient Label Warnings: The Wegovy label lists common side effects like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and constipation. However, it does not mention that these could be symptoms of a more serious condition, gastroparesis, nor is gastroparesis itself mentioned in the “Warnings and Precautions” section.
- Promotional Material: Novo Nordisk’s main promotional website and other marketing materials for Wegovy emphasize the benefits of the drug for weight loss and cardiovascular health but fail to adequately disclose the risk of gastroparesis.
- Lack of Adequate Disclosure: It is claimed that Novo Nordisk did not provide sufficient warnings about the risk of gastroparesis in their advertising or promotional materials, which means that both the general public and healthcare providers were not fully informed of the potential dangers.
- Knowledge of Risks: The company allegedly knew or should have known about the risks of gastroparesis from clinical studies, case reports, and existing medical literature. Despite this knowledge, Novo Nordisk did not update the warnings or adequately inform users and prescribing physicians.
- Impact on Prescribing Decisions: The claim suggests that if the prescribing physician had been adequately warned about the risk of gastroparesis, they might have made different prescribing decisions, such as not prescribing Wegovy or closely monitoring for symptoms of gastroparesis.
- Injury and Damages: As a result of using Wegovy without proper warnings about gastroparesis, the plaintiff suffered severe and permanent injuries, including physical pain, mental anguish, and the need for ongoing medical treatment and monitoring.
Legal Causes of Action in the Failure to Warn Claim
- Negligent Failure to Warn:
- Defendants had a duty to ensure Wegovy would not cause unreasonable harm.
- They continued to market the drug without adequate warnings, despite knowing the risks.
- This lack of warning led to the plaintiff suffering from gastroparesis and other severe injuries.
- Strict Product Liability Failure to Warn:
- Defendants had a duty to warn about the potential risks associated with Wegovy.
- The failure to provide adequate warnings made the drug unreasonably dangerous.
- The inadequate warnings were a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff’s injuries.
In summary, the claim asserts that Novo Nordisk failed to provide adequate warnings about the risk of gastroparesis associated with Wegovy, which led to severe injuries for the plaintiffs.
Possible Settlement Payout Value of Wegovy Lawsuits
The Wegovy lawsuits are very new. That makes it exceedingly difficult to provide any concrete estimate of what the potential settlement value of these cases might be because there are so many variables. At this point, we don’t even know for sure if these cases will be successful or if the scientific evidence linking Wegovy to gallbladder disease will be admissible in court. That is always a major obstacle in these types of mass torts.
That being said, our mass tort lawyers can offer a tentative estimate of how much Wegovy gallbladder cases might be worth, based on the assumption that all of the potential variables (such as admissibility of scientific evidence) are resolved favorably for the plaintiffs. Given those assumptions, we think that Wegovy gallbladder lawsuits could have a settlement value in the range of $250,000 to $525,000. This is lower than our settlement value for Ozempic cases primarily because Wegovy was only on the market for a short time before the warning label was amended. As such, Wegovy cases will be weaker cases because the exposure time is shorter.
Recent Wegovy Lawsuit
A new Wegovy case filed in late July involves a plaintiff who suffered severe injuries after using Wegovy, an injectable prescription medication for chronic weight management.
The plaintiffs are residents of Pennsylvania and have been lawfully married at all relevant times. The injured party, currently 61 years old, used Wegovy from February 2022 to March 2022 as prescribed by a physician.
As a result of using Wegovy, the plaintiff developed gastroparesis, leading to severe and permanent injuries, including pain, suffering, emotional distress, and significant medical expenses. Symptoms included abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, constipation, frequent diarrhea, and decreased bowel function.
Contact a Wegovy Gastroparesis Injury Lawyer
If you have a Wegovy lawsuit, call our Wegovy lawsuit lawyers today at 800-553-8082 or reach out to us online for a free consultation.