The Bismarck Tribune and the Sacramento Bee have reported that Abbott Laboratories, now known as AbbVie, will be paying a $2.24 million settlement to a woman's family after she was diagnosed with Humira-induced histoplasmosis. AbbVie manufactures Humira, a drug the woman took for rheumatoid arthritis for nearly seven months.
D.T. was hospitalized for 21 days with Humira-induced histoplasmosis – considered to be a life-threatening fungal infection.
After getting the news of the settlement award, C.T., D.T.'s son, commented, "We were stunned. We were pleased with the verdict and the victory it provided my mom."
AbbVie spokeswoman, Adelle Infante, commented, "Humira has more than 15 years of clinical and safety data, with therapeutic risks well documented in the prescribing label. We will appeal this verdict based in part on the jury's assessment that the medical community was sufficiently warned about the risk of histoplasmosis."
D.T. began taking Humira in October of 2009; by May of 2010 she had complaints of chest pains and fever that prompted a trip to the hospital. During that "difficult" time, according to C.T., D.T. grew worse, her organs started to fail and she fell into a coma.
D.T. wasn't diagnosed with histoplasmosis for several weeks while her family was warned that she might die. Ultimately she was diagnosed with a severe case of Humira-induced disseminated histoplasmosis.
M.T., D.T.'s husband said, "We felt somebody should be held responsible for this. It was not really the hospital's fault and not the doctor's fault. It was Abbott Laboratories."
Two years earlier, in September of 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an alert to Humira drug manufacturers that they must provide new information to physicians about the risk of drug-induced histoplasmosis. Abbott Laboratories was one of the companies that the FDA sent the alert too. Allegedly Abbott failed to send a letter to doctors until May 17, 2010 – a full 20 months after the first FDA warning and 10 days after D.T. went into the hospital.
The jury found that Abbott was negligent for failing to move quicker in notifying doctors.
Andy Vickery, one of the family's attorney said, "Humira has dangerous side effects and Abbott was negligent regarding them. Justice has been done."
Another attorney for the family, Jim M. Perdue, Jr., commented, "We are honored that a jury of twelve people looked at the evidence and agreed that Abbott failed to do what the law requires."
According to the attorneys Abbott Laboratories were the original Humira manufacturers prior to a company split on January 1.
D.T. slowly recovered, with the aid of both physical and speech therapy. According to her son, her total time in the hospital stretched to 13 months. She passed away this past March of a heart attack.
If you or a loved one has been made ill by a medication the manufacturer can be sued for product liability. Contact a personal injury lawyer to discuss your case and file a suit for your damages.