Add Another Januvia Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed against Merck

Sacramento, CAThe diabetes medication Januvia has claimed another life and another Januvia wrongful death lawsuit has been filed. Yet Januvia is still on the market.

The latest Januvia lawsuit was filed on Oct. 7, 2013, in California federal court against both Merck & Co. and Eli Lilly and Company. Leeta Anderson claims that Januvia and Byetta were the cause of her husband’s pancreatic cancer that led to his death. Her husband began taking the drugs in September 2010 to treat type-2 diabetes. He died almost two years later. During the time he took the type-2 diabetes medications, Mrs. Anderson was unaware that Januvia and Byetta were linked to pancreatic cancer.

Also in October an Alabama man filed a Byetta and Januvia wrongful death lawsuit claiming his wife died from pancreatic cancer as a direct result of the drugs. Phillip Golomb’s wife, Sally Golomb, took Januvia from 2007 to 2010 and Byetta for two years before that to treat her type-2 diabetes. Mrs. Golomb died in August 2011.

Norma Eaton from Arizona also died of Januvia pancreatic cancer in the summer of 2011. A wrongful death lawsuit filed on her behalf calls for Januvia to be taken off the market and cites a number of studies showing that the medication has a higher risk for developing Januvia cancer. Like Mrs. Anderson, no one in the Eaton family knew of the link between Januvia and cancer until after Norma Eaton’s death. The lawsuit (Leona Knicely v. Merck & Co. Inc., Case No. 01569-DMS-JMA, U.S. District Court, Southern District of California) was filed by Eaton’s estate representative, Leona Knicely, on July 3, 2013. Knicely said that Eaton began taking Januvia to treat her diabetes in 2008 and stopped treatment about two years later (the reason isn’t mentioned in the complaint).

In March 2013, a lawsuit claiming three patients developed pancreatic cancer after using Januvia was filed in Illinois state court. Two of the patients died and their spouses subsequently filed Januvia wrongful death lawsuits. The lawsuit alleges that Merck knew of the link between its drug and an increased risk for pancreatic cancer but withheld that knowledge so that Januvia could be approved by the FDA. It further alleges that Merck failed to test the drug properly or to conduct appropriate post-marketing research.

Januvia and the Statute of Limitations

Some people believe that they are too late to file a Januvia lawsuit on behalf of their loved ones due to the statute of limitations. However, some states stipulate that the time period only begins when the injured person or person filing the claim knows or reasonably should have known the cause of his or her injury. It is advisable to contact a Januvia attorney and determine if you are within the statute of limitations and can pursue a Januvia lawsuit.