Hundreds of Tylenol lawsuits were consolidated in the Tylenol MDL. The Tylenol Autism and ADHD lawsuits allege that acetaminophen manufacturers and distributors failed to warn consumers of an elevated risk of Autism and ADHD developing in babies of mothers who use the product during pregnancy. If you used Tylenol or generic acetaminophen regularly during pregnancy and your child developed Autism or ADHD, you may have a claim for compensation. Call 1-800-298-0111 to speak to an attorney at Simmons and Fletcher, P.C., Injury and Accident Lawyers. We have been serving accident victims since 1979 and are happy to connect you with Tylenol autism lawsuit lawyer at once. Some attorneys are still accepting these cases while evaluating new avenues to pursue them.
Please bookmark this page for updates on the Tylenol autism lawsuits.
Tylenol Update December 2023
On December 18, 2023, Judge Cote ruled in favor of the defendants on the Daubert motions tossing out the plaintiff’s key expert testimony in the case. The Court’s ruling deals a serious blow to the case of thousands of autistic children. The Judge’s ruling effectively puts a hold on the bellwether trials as plaintiffs’ counsel evaluate and prepare for an appeal of this horrible ruling.
Presently, approximately 450 Tylenol autism lawsuits have been added to Tylenol MDL 3043 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. There are thousands more claims out there, however, many law firms had sidelined filing the cases waiting to hear what the Court was going to do. In light of this ruling, the plaintiff’s attorneys are evaluating other avenues for new cases such as filing new claims in State Courts where favorable.
Other Key Rulings in the Tylenol Autism MDL
5/15/2023
Texas Case Dismissed. Judge Cote ruled in favor of the defense on a motion to dismiss one Texas case. This ruling is expected to have a negative effect on Texas litigants in the Tylenol Autism and ADHD MDL. In Chapter 82 of the Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code, product manufacturers including defective pharmaceutical makers, are shielded from liability for failure to warn claims if they use a label that was approved for use by the FDA. Thus, even in a scenario like the one alleged in the Tylenol litigation where a drug manufacturer has information suggesting the product is dangerous but fails to bring it to the FDA’s attention, Texas product liability law provides a safe harbor for them. In his opinion, Judge Cote quoted the law below:
“In a products liability action alleging that an injury was caused by a failure to provide adequate warnings or information with regard to a pharmaceutical product, there is a rebuttable presumption that the defendant or defendants, including a healthcare provider, manufacturer, distributor, and prescriber, are not liable with respect to the allegations involving failure to provide adequate warnings or information if: . . . (2) the warnings provided were those stated in monographs developed by the United States Food and Drug Administration for pharmaceutical products that may be distributed without an approved new drug application.”
This ruling may well result in the dismissal of many if not all cases where the mother and child were in Texas at the time of use.
California Case Motion to Dismiss Denied. A motion to dismiss a California case similar to the Texas case above was filed based on a similar California law. However, Judge Cote denied the defendant’s motion allowing the case and all California acetaminophen autism cases to move forward.
The Tylenol Autism And ADHD MDL is NOT A Tylenol Class Action
If your child developed Autism or ADHD after Tylenol use during pregnancy and you wish to have your rights heard, you need to understand that this is NOT a Tylenol class action. In a class action, one individual represents the whole class who all share a common injury claim and common facts In an MDL, every individual must file and prove their own Tylenol Autism lawsuit or Tylenol ADHD lawsuit. You cannot expect your rights to be adjudicated without you taking steps to file a lawsuit and bring your own claim.
What Evidence is Required in a Tylenol Autism Lawsuit?
In order to prove that Tylenol and other product manufacturers and distributors are liable, the plaintiff must prove that the companies were aware of a serious risk and failed to take action to correct the risk imposed by the product during its normal intended use and/or failed to warn the public of the risk. Additionally, there are other issues that must be proven in a product liability case to demonstrate that the FDA was not provided with the full facts in obtaining and/or maintaining FDA approval for the sale of the product with the approved warnings.
Tylenol & Autism: Evidence Mounting in the Link Between Acetaminophen, Autism, and ADHD
In December of 2016, a study was published in the International Journal of Epidemiology entitled: Acetaminophen Use in Pregnancy and Neurodevelopment: Attention Function and Autism Spectrum Symptoms. This study of 2644 mother and child pairs concluded:
“Prenatal acetaminophen exposure was associated with a greater number of autism spectrum symptoms in males and showed adverse effects on attention-related outcomes for both genders. These associations seem to be dependent on the frequency of exposure.”
This report raises questions as to whether Tylenol and other manufacturers should have taken action to warn the public of the elevated risk of children developing Autism and ADHD from use by the mother during pregnancy.
In 2018, another article emerged in the American Journal of Epidemiology. This article reviewed numerous studies going back to 2013 and compiled data on 132,738 mother and child pairs. This study concluded:
“our analysis of the available evidence indicates that acetaminophen exposure during pregnancy is associated with a 20%–30% increased risk for neurodevelopmental disorders.”
Also of important note, in October of 2019, the National Institutes of Health and the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality conducted their own study led by Xiaobing Wang, M.D., of the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, and colleagues. It appears in JAMA Psychiatry. This study agreed that there was a link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and an elevated risk of Autism and ADHD.
Most recently, on August 28, 2023, a study was published in Iscience where the effects of acetaminophen were studied in cord blood. In that study, they concluded, “[o]ur data suggest that paracetamol [acetaminophen] may play a causal role in impaired neurodevelopment.”
Attorneys Filing Tylenol Lawsuits Assert Blackbox Warning Needed
The lawyers bringing the Tylenol pregnancy lawsuits assert that a black box warning label is required to protect pregnant mothers from the risk. Despite all of the above mounting scientific evidence against Tylenol and acetaminophen, there is currently no black box warning label on these products to advise doctors and consumers of any link between Tylenol and Autism or ADHD following the mother’s use of the product during pregnancy. There is no guidance on what levels may or may not be considered safe for pregnant mothers.
How do I Prove Tylenol Usage During Pregnancy?
The mother’s medical records are a common way to document the use if the mother was seeing a doctor or ob-gyn while pregnant. Additionally, credit card records and pharmacy purchase records obtained from your regular drugstore are also ways to establish the pattern of use and the product used. When you hire a lawyer to handle your Tylenol pregnancy lawsuit, they will have you sign releases that allow them to obtain copies of your past records so that they can investigate your claim to determine if the required evidence to prove the connection and usage is there.
Who Are the Defendants in the Tylenol Autism Lawsuits?
Lawsuits naming Tylenol and Walmart have been filed. Additional potential defendants include the following manufacturers, sellers, and/or distributors: 7‐Eleven, Amazon.com, Bayer, Big Lots, Costco, CVS, Dollar General, Family Dollar, Glaxo, Harris Teeter (Kroger), HEB, J&J, Kroger, LNK, Meijer, Perrigo, Proctor & Gamble, Publix, RB Health, Rite‐Aid, Safeway, Target, Walgreens, and/or WinCo Foods.
What Are the Anticipated Autism Settlement Amounts?
As of right now, no cases have been settled or tried to a verdict. Until the Daubert motions are ruled on and the Plaintiffs prevail, no bellwether trials can take place. Thus, no one can predict whether the Tylenol autism lawsuits will ultimately settle, when a settlement will occur if at all, or how much the autism claims are ultimately worth. However, there is a feeling in the plaintiff’s steering committee that the damage models of the Tylenol autism claims exceed the mullion-dollar damage models that the juries have been awarding in the 3M Earplug lawsuits.
Talk to a Lawyer
If you have a child who has an Autism spectrum disorder diagnosis or ADHD diagnosis and you used Tylenol or acetaminophen (at least 10 doses) during your pregnancy after consulting and obtaining approval from your doctor, you may have legal rights. As the Tylenol MDL continues to develop and evolve, there will likely be deadlines set on how soon you must file a Tylenol pregnancy lawsuit and minimum standards determined in the near future. We are assisting in evaluating cases for Tylenol Autism lawsuits where the child is currently 17 or younger and was born before March 26, 2020, but not in Michigan. If your child meets these criteria, contact our law firm at 800-298-0111 for a free consultation. We and the attorneys that we work with do not charge any attorney fees nor charge for any expenses we incur unless we win the case.
*Warning: you should never stop taking any medication as directed by a physician without consulting the physician first as other, more harmful effects might result.
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