Legal Action for Abilify’s Link to Pathological Gambling
Abilify is a prescription medication used to treat mental health disorders, including depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. Recently, the drug has been associated with an increased risk of developing compulsive behaviors such as pathological gambling. In response to this link, many victims have sought legal action against the manufacturers of Abilify.
List of Legal Actions Against Abilify Manufacturers:
1. In 2016, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka Pharmaceutical
the makers of Abilify5 million lawsuit brought by states that accused the companies of promoting the drug for unapproved uses.
2. Numerous individual lawsuits have also been filed against the manufacturers claiming that they failed to warn patients about the potential side effect of compulsive behavior
3. In 2017, a federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) was formed in Florida to consolidate these individual lawsuits into one case
4. Plaintiffs in these cases are seeking compensation for financial losses incurred from pathological gambling as well as other damages related to their use of Abilify
In conclusion, legal actions against the makers of Abilify are ongoing as victims seek justice for being prescribed a medication that triggered compulsive behaviors such as pathological gambling. While Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka Pharmaceuticals have settled one lawsuit related to promoting Abilify for unapproved uses, individual lawsuits continue in addition to a multidistrict litigation case. It remains to be seen how these legal actions will be resolved and what sort of compensation will be provided to those impacted by this unfortunate side effect of Abilify use.