Viagra Melanoma Class Action-Like Centralization Established in MDL

Harvey Kirk

By Harvey Kirk
Posted April 11, 2016

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With a growing number of Viagra lawsuits being filed in courts throughout the United States, consolidated pretrial proceedings have been established in the federal court system, where all claims brought on behalf of men diagnosed with melanoma will be centralized before one judge for coordinated discovery and handling.

Known as an MDL, or multidistrict litigation, the proceedings will be managed similar to a Viagra melanoma class action. However, there are important differences and each lawsuit will remain an individual claim against Pfizer for failing to adequately warn about the potential risk of skin cancer from Viagra side effects.

Late last week, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) issued an order (PDF), transferring Viagra cases pending in U.S. District Courts throughout the country to Northern District of California.

The cases will all be centralized before U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg as part of an MDL, which is designed to reduce duplicative discovery into common issues, avoid conflicting pretrial rulings from different courts and to serve the convenience of the parties, witnesses and the judicial system.

Viagra MDL vs. Class Action Lawsuit

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In complex pharmaceutical litigation, where a large number of claims are likely to be filed by users of the same medication, who have suffered similar injuries, it is common for the courts to centralize pretrial proceedings is manner.

Each of the lawsuits will involve common questions of law and fact surrounding the link between Viagra and melanoma skin cancer, providing efficiencies during discovery, depositions and a series of “bellwether” trials, by centralizing the cases before one judge.

The Viagra MDL will likely be confused with a class action lawsuit, and there are certainly many similarities. However, unlike a class action for Viagra, where each claim would be litigated together through one class representative, each case in the MDL will remain an individual action and each plaintiff must establish that their melanoma diagnosis was caused by Pfizer’s failure to adequately warn about the risks associated with the drug.

In addition, each individual diagnosed with melanoma from Viagra will have a different injury and damages, since the impact of the skin cancer on their life and overall health will vary. Therefore, the damages must be established individually, and each plaintiff will have an opportunity to decide for themselves whether to accept any settlement offers or present their case to jury.

As part of the coordinated pretrial proceedings, it is likely that Judge Seeborg will establish a “bellwether” trial program, where a small group of representative cases will be scheduled for early trial dates. These trials are designed to help the parties gauge how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony that is likely to be repeated throughout a number of cases. However, the outcomes of any Viagra bellwether trials will not be binding on any other claims other than the one considered by the jury.

Following the coordinated discovery and litigation in the MDL, if Pfizer fails to reach Viagra settlements for men with melanoma, hundreds of individuals claims may ultimately be remanded back to the U.S. District Courts where they were originally filed for a separate trial date.

Class Action Lawyers Continuing to Review Viagra Lawsuits

While there are currently only a few hundred lawsuits over Viagra pending nationwide, it is ultimately expected that several thousand men diagnosed with melanoma following use of the medication may be included in the litigation.

The Viagra skin cancer lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A., are providing free consultations and claim evaluations for individuals and families nationwide to help determine if financial compensation may be available as a result of Pfizer’s failure to warn about the melanoma risk.

Increasing evidence suggests that the drug maker placed their desire for profits before consumer safety, withholding information from consumers and the medical community.

All cases will be handled by our law firm under a contingency fee agreement, which means that there are no out-of-pocket costs to hire a lawyer and are no attorney fees or reimbursement of expenses unless we are successful in obtaining a recovery for a melanoma injury suffered by you or a loved one.

CONTACT OUR LAWYERS ABOUT A VIAGRA CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT

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