The family of a North Carolina woman has been awarded nearly $13 million in a lawsuit over bisphosphonate-induced osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ), according to an article on Aboutlawsuits.com.
The lawsuit, which centered around the drugs Aredia and Zometa, was filed against Novartis by Rita Fussman, who died of breast cancer last year. Her family alleged that Fussman suffered additional discomfort before her death due to the side effects of the two drugs, which they say caused her to suffer from ONJ.
Novartis began warning doctors of the potential for jaw damage in 2005, but the lawsuit alleged that Novartis knew about the link much earlier, potentially as early as the 1980s. Fussman began taking Zometa in 2001 as part of her chemotherapy.
The jury awarded $287,000 in compensatory damages and $12.6 million in punitive damages. A punitive damages cap in North Carolina will reduce that amount to approximately $1.1 million, the story noted.
The case is the third ONJ lawsuit concerning Zometa to go to trial. The first resulted in a $3.2 million verdict in October 2009; Novartis won the second one last month. Some 600 Aredia and Zometa suits have been consolidated as part of a multidistrict litigation in Tennesee; another 150 are pending in state courts in New Jersey.
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