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Accutane Found to Cause Inflammatory Bowel Disease

August 8th, 2007 by John Campbell

In a recent New Jersey trial involving Accutane (a drug used primarily to treat acne), the jury returned a verdict of $2.62 million against Roche Holding AG, the makers of Accutane.  In the lawsuit, Andrew McCarrell, 36 years old, alleged that after taking Accutane, he suffered inflammatory bowel disease.  He alleged that Accutane caused severe diarrhea, required him to undergo multiple surgeries, and caused him to suffer from depression.  Mr. McCarrel began taking Accutane in 1995 and became ill only a year later.  

The jury awarded $2.5 million in damages and $119,000 for past medical expenses. One juror specifically stated that the verdict was a message to Roche to engage in further testing and to consider its warning labels because “too many people are at risk of permanent injury.”

There are currently at least 400 additional Accutane cases pending throughout the nation, and inflammatory bowel disease is only of the many problems associated with Accutane.  In March of 2006 the FDA imposed tougher restrictions on Accutane based on reports of severe deformities and low intelligence in babies born to mothers who took Accutane during their pregnancy. (To see Roche’s own warnings regarding birth defects, click here.)   In addition, there are reports that associate Accutane with depression.  (To read the FDA’s information about Accutane click here.)

If you have taken Accutane, and you suffered any of the problems mentioned above, please feel free to call me at 314-241-2929 or email me by clicking here. I’ll be happy to talk with you.

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