Ozempic Lawsuit

Ozempic Lawsuit

As obesity rates continue to increase in the United States, with more than two in five adults being severely overweight, the desire to find ways of losing those extra pounds has led to the popularization of a drug called Ozempic. Although Ozempic isn’t a weight loss medication, more people are using it off-label as one.

Unfortunately, there are serious side effects of using Ozempic for this purpose. From gallbladder issues to stomach paralysis, prolonged use of this drug can affect your health in a variety of ways.

If you’ve taken Ozempic and are experiencing side effects you weren’t warned about, filing an Ozempic lawsuit via a mass tort is a possibility. At Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq, we can help you get the compensation you need after suffering health complications because of this drug. 

What Is Ozempic?

Ozempic is an injectable drug created to help people with type 2 diabetes. It can help manage blood sugar levels while also lowering the chances of people with diabetes and heart disease suffering strokes and heart attacks.

Ozempic’s active ingredient is semaglutide. The drug increases the amount of insulin your body makes after a meal because insulin is a hormone that can lower blood sugar levels. Ozempic also slows the movement of food through the stomach to prevent blood sugar levels from spiking.

It’s not an official weight-loss drug, but it can help people lose weight. Semaglutide is, in fact, FDA-approved at higher doses to help with obesity.

Ozempic affects a hormone called GLP-1, enhancing its impact on the body. This causes a reduction in hunger levels, cravings, and appetite. It also slows down the emptying of the stomach, keeping you fuller for longer. Essentially, Ozempic functions like bariatric surgery does.

Who Can File an Ozempic Side Effects Lawsuit?

To begin an Ozempic lawsuit, you’ll have to meet a few criteria. Generally, if you took the drug and experienced health issues, you could be entitled to compensation.

First, you must demonstrate that you took the drug. You can do this by showing a prescription or other medical records. After that, you have to show that the drug led you to experience adverse health effects. One way to do this is to provide evidence of emergency room visits or doctor consultations.

You have to prove that you can be compensated for what you’ve suffered. For example, if you experienced vomiting that resolved itself and you didn’t receive medical treatment for it, you can’t be compensated for that. That prevents you from filing a claim. 

If you meet these requirements, reach out to a lawyer today to see if you can file a claim.

You may not be able to begin a claim if you are being treated for cancer, if you’ve had gastric bypass surgery or similar operations, or if your symptoms started more than six months after beginning treatment with Ozempic.

Pursuing Compensation With an Ozempic Side Effects Mass Tort

When many people are harmed by the same product, they often pursue compensation via either a mass tort or a class action. In the case of Ozempic side effects, lawsuits are handled in a mass tort.

What Is a Mass Tort?

A mass tort is one way to litigate several related claims. In a mass tort, all similar claims are typically heard before one judge who becomes familiar with the circumstances of the case. In this way, mass torts can help reduce costs and speed up the process of getting compensation since you’re not bringing a case to a judge who isn’t already familiar with something like Ozempic side effects.

Of particular note is the fact that the judge makes a specific determination in your case, which means your results may differ from someone else in the mass tort.

That’s one of the key differences between mass torts and class action lawsuits — in a class action suit, all individual claimants are lumped together into a collective party. The judge evaluates the entire case all at once, and everyone either wins or loses (though the amount each party is entitled to may be different).

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Ozempic Side Effects and Complications

The most common side effects you can experience with Ozempic relate to stomach upset. You can experience nausea, stomach pain, diarrhea, and constipation. It’s possible to experience dizziness, headaches, and fatigue, too.

The manufacturer also warns of more severe complications, including:

  • Kidney stones
  • Pancreatitis
  • Allergic reactions
  • Gallbladder disease
  • Diabetic retinopathy
  • Risk of thyroid tumors

Some people even develop immunity to Ozempic, decreasing the drug’s effectiveness over time.

One of the problems that the manufacturers haven’t warned about is stomach paralysis, also called gastroparesis, and bowel obstruction. With these effects, food may linger in the stomach for days without moving to the intestines.

How to File an Ozempic Mass Tort for Stomach Paralysis

The first step in filing an Ozempic lawsuit is to speak with attorneys like us at Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq. We’ll assess your claim and evaluate whether you qualify to join the mass tort. 

We’ll then work to identify the manufacturer of the drug since they will be the ones liable for what you’ve suffered.

The next step is the gathering of evidence. This isn’t always straightforward, which is why you want to have a lawyer helping you through the claim.

Keep in mind that not every case will qualify. Your symptoms have to have begun within 60 days of taking the drug, and you have to have been under the age of 75.

It’s also important to note that the statute of limitations for these lawsuits can vary significantly, so it’s essential that you reach out to a lawyer as soon as possible. You don’t want to miss the deadline and then completely void your chance of getting compensation.

Ozempic FAQs

If you’re considering filing a claim after suffering adverse effects from Ozempic, you may have additional questions.

A Danish pharmaceutical company called Novo Nordisk is the manufacturer of Ozempic. It’s become one of the wealthiest companies in the world thanks to its development of Ozempic and Wegovy. Novo Nordisk goes as far back as 1922 and is credited with discovering insulin.

They launched the first insulin pen in 1985 and have continued their research into the treatment of diabetes. In 2017, the FDA approved Ozempic for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

The plaintiffs in various lawsuits against Ozempic state that the drug causes a dangerous condition called gastroparesis. This is a chronic issue in which the muscles and nerves in the stomach wall weaken severely, making it difficult for food to move into the intestines. It can result in intestinal obstructions.

Gastroparesis can’t be cured; it can only be managed. Plaintiffs claim that the manufacturer downplayed or hid the risks of gastroparesis.

Other potential lawsuits involve gallbladder disease. Ozempic may increase the risk of developing this disease. Although these lawsuits are still not filed against Novo Nordisk, they may be in the future.

When you turn to us at Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq, you don’t have to worry about upfront fees. That’s because we work on a contingency fee basis. This means that we don’t get paid unless you do. The last thing we want to do is put more of a financial strain on you when you’re dealing with medical expenses.

Semaglutide, which is Ozempic’s main ingredient, has been linked to the development of gastroparesis. Patients noticed that they were vomiting days-old food that had never moved to the intestines, and doctors also noticed that people who’d been taking Ozempic had full stomachs during endoscopies.

The crux of the problem is not only whether the drug causes the condition but whether Novo Nordisk knew and kept it from consumers.

There are a number of possible illnesses that you can suffer if you’ve taken Ozempic. Gastroparesis is one of the most common ones, but you can also suffer from pancreatitis, which is an inflammation of the pancreas and can cause symptoms like nausea, fever, vomiting, and abdominal pain.

Ozempic may also lead to kidney problems, including acute kidney injury, decline in kidney function, and renal impairment. It’s important for people who have kidney disease to be closely monitored when taking Ozempic because of the drug’s potential to make the problem worse.

Ozempic has also been linked to ileus, a condition in which the intestines stop working and are unable to pass waste.

There’s also a link to malnutrition issues that occur from gastroparesis, potentially leading to other illnesses.

Ozempic isn’t approved for weight loss, just the treatment of type 2 diabetes, but semaglutide, its main ingredient, is approved for it under the name of Wegovy. That said, some doctors still prescribe Ozempic for weight loss.

Wegovy has a higher dose of semaglutide than Ozempic, which is why it can offer faster results.

Ozempic works by mimicking a naturally occurring hormone. As the levels of the hormone rise, it alerts your brain that you’re full. The drug also slows digestion, increasing the time it takes for food to leave your body. 

It’s crucial to understand that your body can get used to the drug after a while, causing your weight to plateau.

Each claim is unique, which is why it’s so crucial that you reach out to a lawyer as soon as possible to get an assessment of the kind of compensation you can get in a mass tort.

Generally, you’ll be able to claim economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are those that have a clear value attached to them. The most common are medical expenses. These can cover hospital bills, medication costs, and anything else related to your treatment. If you suffer illnesses and injuries that require ongoing care, medical expenses will also cover future costs.

Suffering a serious injury because of Ozempic can also cause you to miss work. This means that you won’t make the wages that you would otherwise have gotten. That’s a loss you can claim. If the injuries are severe enough that you won’t be able to continue working, you can get compensation for future wages.

Non-economic damages are a bit more difficult to quantify. The most common of these is pain and suffering, which focuses on addressing the physical and emotional distress you’ve been through because of Ozempic. The severity of the injuries you’ve sustained will dictate how much compensation you receive.

Loss of enjoyment of life is another non-economic damage you can claim. If you’re not able to live your life the way you used to because of the effects of Ozempic, then it’s possible to get compensation for that, too.

For those who have lost a loved one because of this medication, loss of consortium is available, as well. It attempts to compensate you for the loss of companionships and support you’d otherwise have had.

It’s essential that you reach out to a lawyer to get a good sense of the kind of compensation you can get if you join a mass tort.

There is no set time limit for a mass tort because each claim has its own unique challenges. Some mass torts take just a few weeks to resolve, while others can take significantly longer. Determining factors might include the number of plaintiffs involved, for example.

When you come to us for a consultation, we can tell you more about the process and what you can expect.

How Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq Can Help

Suffering through serious gastrointestinal issues because of a medication can leave you with physical and emotional trauma that could impact the quality of your life. At Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq, we understand how difficult it can be to ask for help, so we do everything possible to make the process easier.

We work on a contingency fee basis so that you never have to worry about upfront fees. If or when you get paid, we do. We’re tenacious in our pursuit of justice, but we offer the compassionate representation our clients deserve when they’re going through difficult times. 

Because we know it can be hard to wait for the outcome of a claim, we make sure to keep you updated. We communicate extensively with our clients and always welcome questions and worries. We’re here for you.

From the start, we will assess whether you qualify to join the mass tort and find the best way of proving it. We work with expert witnesses who can offer their testimony, allowing us to bolster your claim. You can always expect us to walk you through our strategy so that you have a clear idea of what to expect.

You don’t have to go through all of this on your own. When you turn to Garces, Grabler & LeBrocq, you have the chance to get help for the damage Ozempic use has caused. Contact GGL online today or call 1-800-923-3456.

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