Abilify Gambling Warnings May Have Helped Prevent Substantial Losses, Damages
For years, consumers in other countries were warned that Abilify side effects may cause gambling and other compulsive behaviors, allowing doctors and users of the antipsychotic to monitor for signs or symptoms before suffering substantial losses and irreparable damage to their financial stability and reputation. However, those same Abilify gambling warnings were not provided to users in the United States until recently.
As a result of the drug maker’s decision to place their desire for profits before the safety and well-being of individuals using their medication, our lawyers are pursuing Abilify lawsuits for individuals and families who have suffered damages caused by:
- Compulsive Gambling
- Compulsive Shopping
- Sex Addiction
To review whether your or a loved one may have a case, request a free consultation and case evaluation with our Abilify lawyers.
Abilify Impulsive Behaviors Warnings
On May 3, 2016, the FDA issued a drug safety communication, indicating:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning that compulsive or uncontrollable urges to gamble, binge eat, shop and have sex have been reported with the use of the antipsychotic drug aripiprazole (Abilify, Abilify Maintena, Aristada and generics). These uncontrollable urges were reported to have stopped when the medicine was discontinued or the dose was reduced. These impulse-control problems are rare, but they may result in harm to the patient and others if not recognized.
However, it appears that the drug makers knew or should have known about the link between Abilify and gambling since at least 2009, yet chose several times not to independently add these warnings to the Abilify label until forced to do so by the FDA.
In late 2012, the European Medicines Agency required Abilify warnings about the risk of compulsive gambling, urging patients to be aware of the risk and carefully monitored during treatment with the drug, indicating:
Pathological gambling: Post-marketing reports of pathological gambling have been reported among patients prescribed ABILIFY, regardless of whether these patients had a prior history of gambling. Patients with a prior history of pathological gambling may be at increased risk and should be monitored carefully.
and:
Psychiatric disorders: agitation, nervousness, pathological gambling, suicide attempt, suicidal ideation, and completed suicide.
Regulatory officials in Canada required similar warnings in late 2015, indicating:
Pathological Gambling: Post-marketing reports of pathological gambling have been reported in patients treated with ABILIFY. In relation to pathological gambling, patients with a prior history of gambling disorder may be at increased risk and should be monitored carefully.
Despite these Abilify gambling warnings provided in other countries, users and doctors in the United States were kept in the dark, causing many users to continue to engage in this dangerous and damaging behavior without any clue that the use of Abilify may be causing their gambling urges.
Until January 2016, the word “gambling” was not even mentioned in the Abilify labeling provided in the United States. At that time, information about reports involving pathological gambling was added to the “Postmarketing Experience” section of the label, but it was buried and not placed in a manner likely to allow users or physicians to learn about the information and recognize early signs of Abilify impulsivity problems.
Lawsuits for Abilify Gambling Losses
Had doctors and patients in the U.S. been given the basic courtesy of the same warnings given to Europeans and Canadians, numerous cases of compulsive gambling, compulsive shopping, sex addictions, destroyed finances and shattered families could have been avoided.
The product liability lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. are reviewing potential lawsuits for individuals who have exhibited compulsive behaviors after taking Abilify, pursuing recovery of gambling losses, as well as damages for the impact this has had on:
- Loss of Financial Stability
- Employment
- Family Relationships
- Reputation
- Overall Quality of Life
All cases are pursued by our Abilify gambling loss lawyers on a contingency fee basis, which means that there are no out-of-pocket costs to hire our law firm and we only receive an attorney fee or reimbursement of expenses if a recovery or settlement is obtained.
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