Ozempic Vision Loss Lawsuits To Be Consolidated in New Jersey
The growing number of lawsuits claiming that Ozempic and similar drugs are tied to permanent vision loss has taken a major step forward. The New Jersey Supreme Court agreed to consolidate many of those cases together in what is known as multicounty litigation (MCL).
MCLs are used when similar cases are filed in the state across multiple courts, placing them all together before one judge to go through a coordinated legal process.
Lawyers representing people who have filed lawsuits were pushing for this step.
“The reason we can file cases in New Jersey state court and keep them in New Jersey state court is because [Ozempic maker] Novo Nordisk is a New Jersey-based company,” Danielle Gold, an attorney with Weitz & Luxenberg working on this litigation, told Drugwatch earlier this year.
Dozens of lawsuits have been filed over claims that Ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs used for weight loss and diabetes treatment could increase the risk of Non-Arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy (NAION), sometimes called an eye stroke.
Ozempic Vision Loss Lawsuits Could Soon Be Consolidated at the Federal Level
While many Ozempic vision loss lawsuits have been filed in New Jersey state court, others are pending in federal court. Those cases could soon be consolidated as well.
A hearing has been scheduled for next month to determine whether these cases will be grouped together in multidistrict litigation (MDL). If this were to happen, all vision loss lawsuits in federal court would be transferred to the same judge, allowing them to move through the legal process together in a streamlined fashion.
MDLs can lead to quicker and more efficient results, often culminating in bellwether trials, where several cases considered representative of all the lawsuits are selected to go before a jury.
The outcome of those trials can be critical for all cases, helping to inform wider settlement talks between both sides.
The MDL process is already being used for Ozempic lawsuits involving gastroparesis and other intestinal issues.
Lawsuits Claim Ozempic Can Lead to Permanent Vision Loss
The mounting Ozempic lawsuits revolve around claims that the drug, and others like it, can lead to the development of NAION. This condition can cause rapid, painless and permanent vision loss due to a lack of blood flow to the optic nerve.
A recent study analyzing more than 100,000 diabetes patients found that those taking GLP-1 drugs could be upwards of 68 times more likely to develop NAION compared to all other drugs. Those findings were presented to the American Academy of Ophthalmology last month.
In addition to Ozempic, drugs such as Wegovy, Saxenda and Victoza have also been connected to this concern.
Lawyers continue to investigate cases involving people who took these drugs and went on to experience sudden vision loss.
