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A Survey of Lawsuits Filed for the Complaint of Tardive Dyskinesia Following Treatment with Metoclopramide
| Eli D. Ehrenpreis1*, Asha Krishnan BS2, Aimee Alexoff BS2, Dylan Smith BS2 and Saran Wilensky BA3 | |
| 1Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Chicago, Department of Gastroenterology, NorthShore University HealthSystem; Medical Director, Center for the Study of Complex Diseases, Research Institute, NorthShore University HealthSystem, 1001 University Place, Evanston, IL, 60201, USA | |
| 2Data Analyst, Center for the Study of Complex Diseases, Research Institute, NorthShore University HealthSystem, 1001 University Place, Evanston, IL, 60201, USA | |
| 3Student, Columbia Law School, 435 West 116th Street, New York, NY, 10025, USA | |
| Corresponding Author : |
Eli D. Ehrenpreis |
| Received December 19, 2014; Accepted January 20, 2015; Published January 23, 2015 | |
| Citation: Ehrenpreis ED, Krishnan A, Alexoff A, Smith D, Wilensky S (2015) A Survey of Lawsuits Filed for the Complaint of Tardive Dyskinesia Following Treatment with Metoclopramide. Clin Pharmacol Biopharm 4:131. doi: | |
| Copyright: © 2015 Ehrenpreis ED, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. | |
Abstract
Background: Tardive dyskinesia (TD) is a severe neurologic adverse reaction occurring with long-term use of metoclopramide. Aim: To examine all reported legal cases involving metoclopramide-induced TD prior to June 16, 2014 in an effort to inform physicians and practitioners of the current legal risks associated with the prescription of metoclopramide. Methods: A search of the Westlaw database for cases that contained the terms metoclopramide and tardive dyskinesia was performed. This dataset was then queried for cases brought against physicians or practitioners. Full length reports were obtained and information was pulled regarding plaintiff demographics, medical specialty of the defendant, plaintiff’s TD symptoms, lawsuit claims, and case outcome. Results: There were ninety-six cases in which patients filed a claim that met our search criteria. Eighty-five cases (88.5%) were brought against the brand name and/or generic medicine manufacturers as failure to warn claims. There were eleven cases brought against physicians or practitioners. Eight of eleven lawsuits (72%), of cases were either dismissed, settled or were in the process of settlement. There has also been an increase in the number of malpractice cases filed related to metoclopramide induced TD since the FDA issued its black box warning in February, 2009. Conclusions: There have been a small number of cases directed at physicians related to the prescription of metoclopramide and the development of TD, most of which were either dismissed or settled.
