Defense verdict in second Levaquin trial

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The second Levaquin  bellwether trial has resulted in a defense verdict.   The jury came back last Friday with a finding for the defense, Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc and Johnson & Johnson.

“The evidence presented at trial demonstrated that Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., properly informed the FDA and the medical community of the benefits and risks associated with the use of Levaquin, and that the company acted responsibly by providing appropriate and timely information about Levaquin,” company spokesperson William Foster said in an e-mail.

 The plaintiff, Calvin Christensen, 84, said he ruptured the Achilles tendon in his right foot after taking Levaquin for pneumonia. Levaquin is an antibiotic that is injected into the bloodstream.

 Last December, a jury returned a $1.8 million verdict in the first bellwether case to an 82-year-old man with two ruptured Achilles tendons. In that case, the jury apparently agreed that the defendants had failed to warn of the dangers associated with the antibiotic. 

 There are approximately 2,600 Levaquin cases pending across the country.  The local defense team was led by Tracy Van Steenburgh of Minneapolis.