Avandia Settlements

You may have heard of individuals suing the makers of Avandia for its debilitating side-effects and receiving large cash settlements as a result. Many of these stories are in fact completely true. If you or your family members have been hurt by this prescription drug, you too may be able to acquire a sizable Avandia settlement.

Avandia is a prescription drug used to treat diabetes that is manufactured and marketed by the pharmaceuticals giant, GlaxoSmithKline. While this drug has been very successful for GlaxoSmithKline from a sales standpoint, it has also become extremely controversial due to the side-effects that people who have used this drug have experienced.

Avandia Side Effects

One of these harmful side-effects is heart disease. A 2007 study in fact suggested that the use of Avandia can increase the chances of having a heart attack by 43 percent. Another such side-effect is stroke. In a number of studies, evidence was presented that suggested Avandia can make a patient 27 percent more likely to have a stroke.

Another potentially debilitating side effect of Avandia is bone fractures. These fractures are experienced most often by female Avandia users in the feet and limbs. Other serious side-effects of Avandia can include eye damage and cases of hepatitis.

Avandia Lawsuit

One thing that all this controversy regarding the dangers of Avandia has resulted in is a high volume of lawsuits being filed against the makers of this drug. The British newspaper, The Guardian, reported that the amount of lawsuits that were launched over the drug could amount to near $6 billion. Other information gathered by UBS AG, a Swiss financial services corporation, suggested that the amount of total lawsuits over Avandia had reached a staggering 13,000.

In fact, some of these lawsuits weren't even brought by single individuals. One rather significant lawsuit was in fact filed by the county of Santa Clara, California. In the lawsuit, lawyers representing Santa Clara said the county has spent over $2 million on Avandia during a period that lasted from 1999 to 2007. However, the attorneys were not asking for only $2million. There were in fact suing for damages triple that amount.

One thing many people who might sue the makers of Avandia may fear is not being able to compete against expensive corporate lawyers with nearly unlimited resources. However, this has not been a problem for many plaintiffs who have sued GlaxoSmithKline. GlaxoSmithKline, perhaps aware of the overwhelming amount of damning evidence there is against the safety of this drug, has in fact settled literally thousands of such lawsuits out of court.

In regards to the likelihood of achieving a settlement out of court for a significant amount of money, one very important event occurred in May of 2010. In that month, GlaxoSmithKline agreed to settle over 700 lawsuits regarding Avandia for $60 million. Another astonishing amount of settlements were agreed upon only two months later. In July of 2010, GlaxoSmithKline settled a total of 10,000 lawsuits over Avandia for a whopping $460 million.

Due to the amazing amount of settlements that GlaxoSmithKline has reached with plaintiffs suing over the side-effects of Avandia, other victims of this prescription drug certainly have the chance of obtaining an Avandia settlement. If you believe you or your loved ones have been seriously harmed in any way by this drug, you should contact an attorney to discuss your legal options.