The multidistrict litigation against the maker of Androgel, a testosterone treatment, continues with another multimillion-dollar victory for a plaintiff. An Illinois federal jury found that the parent company, AbbVie Inc. must pay $140 million in punitive damages and $140,000 in compensatory damages to Jeffrey Konrad, who suffered a heart attack in 2010 after using Androgel.
Konrad was represented by: Troy Rafferty, Wes Bowden and Brandon Bogle of Levin, Papantonio, Thomas, Mitchell, Rafferty & Proctor; Dave Buchanan of the Seeger Weiss Law Firm; and Bill Robins and Olga Viner of the Robins Cloud Law Firm.
Many of these lawyers and firms were also part of a legal team that won a $150 million verdict in July on behalf of an Oregon man who also suffered a heart attack after using the product.
“Now another jury has condemned the conduct of AbbVie concerning AndroGel,” Rafferty said in a statement. “On the heels of the $150 million verdict earlier this year, these two verdicts send a strong message to this company about its conduct and the need to change its behavior.”
AbbVie is facing a number of suits from plaintiffs around the country in connection to the alleged harmful side effects of Androgel. A master complaint consolidating the grievances of numerous plaintiffs claims AbbVie’s marketed Androgel to healthy men by painting moodiness, fatigue and declining athleticism — all natural byproducts of the aging process — as an illness that Androgel could treat. Androgel users have instead reported suffering heart attacks, strokes and other illnesses after using the project.
