Diabetes Lawsuit

GLP-1 diabetes drug and weight loss drug lawsuits address severe personal injuries associated with these medications. 

GLP-1s are a class of drugs used to manage blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes and promote weight loss. They work by mimicking the body’s naturally occurring GLP-1 hormone, which triggers the body to:

• Release insulin from the pancreas
• Block secretion of glucagon, a hormone that raises the body’s blood sugars when necessary
• Slow stomach emptying
• Increase feelings of fullness (satiety) after eating

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first GLP-1 for treating type 2 diabetes in 2005. However, studies show that GLP-1 medications can also promote weight loss and address health complications related to obesity. These findings have caused the use and popularity of these drugs to increase significantly.

Some GLP-1s are FDA-approved for chronic weight management, and others are approved only for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Yet, data suggests many physicians prescribe GLP-1 diabetes medications for off-label weight loss promotion.

Brand name GLP-1 medications include:

• Mounjaro® (tirzepatide)
• Ozempic® (semaglutide)
• Rybelsus® (semaglutide)
• Saxenda® (liraglutide)
• Trulicity® (dulaglutide)
• Victoza® (liraglutide)
• Wegovy® (semaglutide)
• Zepbound® (tirzepatide)

Some GLP-1 drugs have caused dangerous side effects. Patients who experience these health issues are filing lawsuits against Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. Lawsuits claim the manufacturers failed to adequately warn patients or physicians of certain risks associated with these drugs.

Diabetes lawsuit plaintiffs allege that GLP-1 medications cause severe, life-altering and sometimes fatal health problems, including:

• Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
• Esophageal and bowel injuries
• Gastroenteritis (inflammation of the stomach and intestines)
• Gastroparesis (stomach paralysis)
• Ileus (a condition that prevents the bowel from moving waste out of the body)
• Intestinal obstruction or blockage
• Intraoperative aspiration (aspirating regurgitated food during surgical procedures)
• Malnutrition
• Vision loss

Patients have the right to know about the risks they are taking with any new medications. Additionally, companies should make doctors fully aware of the dangerous side effects associated with drugs they prescribe. However, these manufacturers did not include many alleged side effects on GLP-1 medication labels.

If you suffered an injury from a GLP-1 medication that you weren’t warned of, you may qualify for compensation to help with your medical bills, lost wages, pain, suffering and more. 

Lawsuits are currently being consolidated into multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. As of September 2024, the case includes more than 869 personal injury claims. 

Diabetes lawyers with Motley Rice can help patients determine if they are eligible for weight loss and diabetes drug litigation.

Ozempic is a once-weekly injectable medication designed to help patients with type 2 diabetes manage their blood glucose levels. The drug has also been taken by diabetic and nondiabetic patients for weight management. The active ingredient in Ozempic is the GLP-1 semaglutide. 

The FDA approved Ozempic for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in December 2017. The FDA did not approve the drug for weight loss, but its off-label use for weight reduction has made its popularity explode in recent years. In 2021, 8.2 million prescriptions were written for Ozempic. That was more than four times the number written only two years prior. 

People are bringing claims against Ozempic’s manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, alleging the company failed to adequately warn them of certain side effects. Patients who have taken Ozempic have reported health problems ranging in severity from intestinal blockages to gastroparesis to DVT. Studies have also linked semaglutide to vision loss.

Learn more about Ozempic lawsuits.

Wegovy is another GLP-1 medication developed by Novo Nordisk to help with chronic weight management. It is a weekly injectable available in a higher dose than its sister drug, Ozempic. It is specifically approved to treat obese patients and promote weight loss. Like Ozempic, the active ingredient in Wegovy is semaglutide.

The FDA approved Wegovy for adult use in June 2021. In December 2022, it was also approved as an obesity treatment for teens aged 12 and older. In addition, the FDA approved the medication in March 2024 to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events (like heart attack and stroke) in overweight and obese patients and people with cardiovascular disease. 

Novo Nordisk has aggressively marketed Wegovy. The company has spent more than $25 million in the past decade to promote it and other weight loss drugs to U.S. medical professionals. Sales of Wegovy increased by more than 1,361% between July 2021 and December 2023.

However, patients have reported unexpected and severe side effects while taking Wegovy. Some patients have chosen to bring claims against Novo Nordisk. For example, one Pennsylvania woman was hospitalized for gastroparesis after taking Wegovy. She has brought a claim against the manufacturer for failing to warn consumers about risks.

Learn more about Wegovy lawsuits here.

Rybelsus is another drug made by Novo Nordisk with the active ingredient semaglutide. It was approved by the FDA in 2019 to treat type 2 diabetes. It was the first oral GLP-1 medication for that treatment. 

Rybelsus differs from Ozempic and Wegovy because it is not a weekly injectable. Instead, patients take Rybelsus daily by mouth 30 minutes before their first food or drink of the day. 

Rybelsus is named in GLP-1 diabetes drug and weight loss medication lawsuits. Lawsuits allege that Novo Nordisk knew about severe side effects of the drug, including gastrointestinal problems, pancreatitis and acute kidney injury, and warned consumers about these issues. Plaintiffs argue the drug maker did not warn about other conditions experienced by semaglutide users, including gastroparesis.

Novo Nordisk’s warnings about Rybelsus’ side effects demonstrate that the company knew semaglutide could cause serious harm. Yet, Novo Nordisk continued to develop new semaglutide medications, like Wegovy, and aggressively market others, like Ozempic. 

Learn more about Rybelsus lawsuits.

Saxenda is a weight management and obesity drug. It is an injectable medication made by Novo Nordisk with the active ingredient liraglutide.

Liraglutide is another GLP-1. Its development and release proceeds semaglutide. The FDA approved Saxenda for treating obesity in adults in December 2014. In December 2020, the FDA approved it for use in teens aged 12 to 17. 

Saxenda users must inject the GLP-1 daily, and the dosage is larger than semaglutide drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Saxenda is also less effective. In clinical trials, patients on Saxenda lost 5% of their body weight, while patients on Ozempic lost 15%.

Side effects of Saxenda include acute pancreatitis, acute gallbladder disease, development of thyroid t-cell tumors (thyroid cancer) and suicidal thoughts. Like other GLP-1s, Saxenda can also cause delayed stomach emptying, resulting in gastroparesis. The drug’s label does not warn about this side effect. 

Lawsuit plaintiffs have experienced severe gastrointestinal injuries after using Saxenda. They allege Novo Nordisk did not inform them about this risk.

Learn more about Saxenda lawsuits.

Victoza is a predecessor to Saxenda and is also made and marketed by Novo Nordisk. Like Saxenda, its active ingredient is liraglutide. It was FDA-approved for diabetes treatment in adults in 2010 and approved for children aged 10 and over in 2019. It was approved in 2017 to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in diabetes patients. 

Patients must inject Victoza daily. Its dosage is slightly different from Saxenda’s. 

Victoza side effects include acute kidney injury, pancreatitis, acute gallbladder disease and the development of thyroid t-cell tumors. Studies show liraglutide increases the risk of gastroparesis and intestinal blockage, as do other GLP-1 drugs. Victoza’s manufacturer did not warn about gastrointestinal injuries, and the drug is part of the GLP-1 MDL.

Learn more about Victoza lawsuits.

Mounjaro is another GLP-1 medication included in diabetes lawsuits. Mounjaro is made by Novo Nordisk’s competitor, Eli Lilly. Its active ingredient is tirzepatide.

The FDA approved Mounjaro for type 2 diabetes treatment in 2022. It is a once-weekly injectable. 

Side effects listed on Mounjaro’s label include the development of thyroid t-cell tumors, pancreatitis, acute gallbladder disease and diabetic retinopathy (RA), which can cause vision loss and blindness.

Diabetes lawsuit plaintiffs have also suffered severe side effects that are not included on Mounjaro’s label. GLP-1s have been associated with conditions Eli Lilly did not inform patients about, including deep vein thrombosis (DTV), gastroparesis, ileus and bowel injury.

Learn more about Mounjaro lawsuits here. 

Zepbound is another brand name for tirzepatide. It is Eli Lilly’s FDA-approved drug for weight loss. It is essentially the same medication as Mounjaro and is administered in the same manner, frequency and dosage.

Zepbound is one of the newest GLP-1 drugs for weight management. It was not approved by the FDA until November 2023. In August 2024, Eli Lilly announced it would make the medication available to patients without insurance. Consumers with an on-label prescription can now buy single-dose vials of Zepbound at around half the price of other GLP-1 obesity drugs.

Zepbound is included in the weight loss medication and diabetes drug MDL. Plaintiffs complain of the same dangerous side effects associated with Zepbound’s sister medication, Mounjaro. 

Learn more about Zepbound lawsuits.

Eli Lilly also makes and markets Trulicity. The active GLP-1 in this medication is dulaglutide. The FDA approved it in 2014 to control blood sugar in patients with diabetes. In 2020, it was approved to help decrease the risk of stroke and heart attack in adults without established cardiovascular disease.

Trulicity is also a once-weekly injectable, but it has different dosage recommendations than Mounjaro and Zepbound. Even though Trulicity is not approved to promote weight loss, sales of the drug indicate widespread off-label use. The increased popularity of GLP-1s for off-label weight reduction has led to shortages of Trulicity and similar diabetes medications.

Plaintiffs in Trulicity lawsuits have suffered severe side effects after taking GLP-1s, including blood clots, DVT, gallbladder disease, gastroenteritis, ileus, intestinal obstruction and intraoperative pulmonary aspiration. Eli Lilly did not include warnings about these conditions on Trulicity’s label. Users have also experienced vision loss caused by diabetic retinopathy. Eli Lilly did not include this side effect on the drug’s warning label until 2020.

Read more about Trulicity lawsuits here.

Glucose monitoring systems help diabetic patients monitor their blood glucose levels on demand. The Dexcom G6 glucose monitoring system is an implantable sensor that sends blood glucose data to an app on the patient’s phone. 

Thousands of patients have alerted the FDA to faulty readings and alert failures with the Dexcom G6 system. Inexact glucose monitoring can have serious repercussions for diabetic patients. Patients negatively affected by the G6 system are filing lawsuits against Dexcom.

Learn more about Dexcom G6 lawsuits here.

Patients use insulin pump devices to help manage their insulin levels. The pumps are supposed to deliver programmed amounts of insulin into a patient’s body.

However, recent defects with several models of MiniMed™ insulin pumps have led to incorrect amounts of insulin delivery. Improper insulin dosages can cause serious side effects for diabetic patients. Patients affected by the defective pumps are filing lawsuits against the manufacturer, Medtronic.

A diabetes lawyer can help patients determine if they are eligible to bring a claim against Medtronic.

Learn more about MiniMed insulin pump lawsuits.

Our medical attorneys have represented thousands of patients seriously hurt by dangerous prescription medications, over-the-counter drugs and medical devices. Our experience includes helping victims of proton pump inhibitors and other devices and drugs in addition to representing patients in the above cases.

We understand that as a patient or family member, what you know about your or a loved one’s medications may be limited. 

If you believe a GLP-1 medication, faulty glucose monitoring system or defective insulin pump made you sick or hurt you, our diabetes attorneys have the resources needed to thoroughly investigate and:

• Identify potentially harmful medicines and devices
• Review if the medicine or device is linked to your injury
• Review the manufacturer’s compliance with FDA regulations
• Examine the adequacy of the manufacturer's warning to you about potential side effects
• Recognize other issues that could affect your potential claim